Obama takes 1st step in presidential bid  —  WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) said Tuesday he is taking the initial step in a presidential bid that could make him the nation's first black to occupy the White House.  —  Obama announced on his Web site …

What's the White House Doing to Prosecutors?  —  During a floor speech on the topic moments ago, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said the White House has told her it was replacing from five to 10 Senate-confirmed U.S. attorneys with its own interim appointees.  —  We know of seven who have left during …

McCain Was Against War In Iraq Before He Was For It  —  So I began looking through some old newspaper clippings on the Gulf War for some research I have been doing, and you just wouldn't believe what I happened across.  Featured prominently in one article from August of 1990 …

Legalize It  —  HOW TO SOLVE AFGHANISTAN'S DRUG PROBLEM.  —  The British Empire once fought a war for the right to sell opium in China.  —  In retrospect, history has judged that war destructive and wasteful, a shameless battle of colonizers against colonized that in the end helped neither side.

Rumsfeld is gone, but the veep's other loyalists remain.  —  With the departure of his longtime friend Donald Rumsfeld, John Bolton's resignation as U.N. ambassador, and Democrats taking over Congress, times seem grim for the Dick Cheney wing of the Bush administration.

ABC's The Note: Bush Gave His 'Best TV Performance In Years' On 60 Minutes  —  President Bush appeared on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday night.  A host of media and conservative blogs were not terribly impressed with his performance:  —  New York Times blog: … Houston Chronicle blog:

Choice of Martinez sparks GOP rebellion  —  Rebellion is brewing among conservatives on the Republican National Committee over President's Bush's attempt to "impose" Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida as "general chairman" of the party, who favors "amnesty" for illegal aliens.

Libby Trial, Day One: Can You Trust Cheney?  —  From my "Capital Games" column at www.thenation.com....  "Would any of you have any difficulty fairly judging the believability of former or present members of the Bush Administration?"  —  In a Washington courtroom on Tuesday morning …

FORMER U.N. OIL-FOR-FOOD CHIEF BENON SEVAN INDICTED OVER BRIBES FROM SADDAM'S REGIME  —  Benon Sevan.  —  Former U.N. Oil-for-Food chief Benon Sevan has been indicted in New York federal court for allegedly taking bribes under the program from Saddam Hussein's regime, U.S. authorities announced Tuesday.

AP: Iran Gets Army Gear in Pentagon Sale  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has sold forbidden equipment at least a half-dozen times to middlemen for countries - including Iran and China - who exploited security flaws in the Defense Department's surplus auctions.

Grumbling in the Ranks  —  Vocal opposition to President's Bush's strategy of sending more than 20,000 additional troops to help secure Iraq has grown to include some of the troops themselves.  —  A group of more than 50 active-duty military officers will deliver a petition to Congress …

Yeas and Nays: Tuesday, Jan. 16  —  WASHINGTON - Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin cover people, power and politics in the beltway each weekday.  Email them at yan@dcexaminer.com .  —  Little to head WHCA's big night  —  He does a mean Ronald Reagan impersonation and his imitation of Richard Nixon is legendary.

A crowded womb  —  A twin leans over and kisses the cheek of her sister in a heart-warming picture that would not be out of place in any family home.  —  Yet these siblings are a not even born and the astonishing images have been captured on a new 'four-dimensional' ultrasound scan of the womb.

Stop the Escalation in Iraq  —  To: Legislators, Staff, and Interested Parties  —  From: Progressive States Network  —  Re: Preventing Escalation in Iraq  —  This LegAlert discusses the President's proposed escalation in Iraq, its implications for states and the nation …

Iranian regime change: "Faster, please!"  —  ut as a politically divisive figure.  He's loved — and consulted at the highest levels — by his fellow travelers for his hard-line positions on the Middle East.  His catchphrase, "faster, please!" refers to the speed with which he'd like the United States to compel regime change in Iran.