Five hostages killed in Jewish center, chaos at hotel  —  MUMBAI, India (CNN) — The siege at a Jewish center in Mumbai is in its final stages, according to reports, but fighting still rages at a hotel in the city two days after terrorists launched a series of deadly attacks.

Lest We Forget  —  A few months ago I found myself at a meeting of economists and finance officials, discussing — what else? — the crisis.  There was a lot of soul-searching going on.  One senior policy maker asked, “Why didn't we see this coming?”  —  There was, of course …

Worker dies at Long Island Wal-Mart after being trampled in Black Friday stampede  —  A worker died after being trampled and a woman miscarried when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island Wal-Mart Friday morning, witnesses said.  —  The unidentified worker …

Area's Other Obamas Revel in Rare Moniker  —  Nicanor Obama began to realize he might be on to a good thing when he didn't get a speeding ticket not long ago.  After stopping the 28-year-old for a little lead-footing near the Verizon Center, a District police officer looked at his driver's license and put the citation book away.

Where are all the Anti-Inauguration activists now?  —  President Obama's Chicago machine is kicking into high gear to plan and fund his massive, unprecedented inaugural festivities.  He just appointed an inauguration planning committee that includes his hometown cronies William Daley and Penny Pritzker.

Who is Christina Romer?  —  When Barack Obama selected Christina Romer to lead his Council of Economic Advisers, the response of many in Washington was “Christina who?”  —  But in economic circles, Romer was an obvious pick.  The University of California at Berkeley professor …

From Market Economy to Political Economy  —  In the old days — from the Venetian Republic to, oh, the Bear Stearns rescue — if you wanted to get rich, you did it the Warren Buffett way: You learned to read balance sheets.  Today you learn to read political tea leaves.

‘The Most Dangerous Woman in the World’  —  Aafia Siddiqui was once considered a brilliant scientist.  Then the US government called her the new face of al-Qaida — a Pakistani woman who ranked among America's top terrorism suspects.  Now the MIT-educated mother of three is in custody …

Stimulus for Skeptics  —  Over the past year, the federal government has poured money into the economy hundreds of billions of dollars at a time.  It has also guaranteed investments, loans and deposits worth about $8 trillion.  Barry Ritholtz, the author of “Bailout Nation,” …

Joan of Arc Was a Loser [Reader Post]  —  Yes, Joan of Arc was a loser.  Moses was a failure.  Churchill was an outcast and then an outcast again.  The Lord Jesus himself was defeated.  This is an important thing to remember at times like this.  The election has been lost.