Detainee Tortured, Says U.S. Official  —  Trial Overseer Cites ‘Abusive’ Methods Against 9/11 Suspect  —  The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned …

Obama Dines With Conservative Opinion Leaders  —  It's true.  —  He motorcaded to a house in Maryland this evening, and if the press pool report is accurate, he is breaking bread with William Kristol and David Brooks.  (If Brooks and Kristol seem to be unusually briefed about Obama's thinking, you'll know why.)

Why Israel Can't Make Peace With Hamas  —  IN the summer of 2006, at a moment when Hezbollah rockets were falling virtually without pause on northern Israel, Nizar Rayyan, husband of four, father of 12, scholar of Islam and unblushing executioner, confessed to me one of his frustrations.

Bin Laden urges jihad against Israel  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden urged Muslims to launch a jihad against Israel and condemned Arab governments as allies of the Jewish state in a new message aimed at harnessing anger in the Mideast over the Gaza offensive.

BART officer arrested on murder warrant in NY Day shooting  —  (01-14) 00:13 PST Oakland — The BART police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man on an Oakland train platform and then refused to explain his actions to investigators was arrested Tuesday in Nevada on suspicion of murder, authorities said.

The Money-Changers  —  As Barack Obama looks back to Franklin Roosevelt's first inaugural address — the only other such address that came smack in the middle of an economic meltdown — I hope he pays special heed to Roosevelt's words on America's bankers, who then as now had plunged the nation into an economic abyss.

Bush Presidency Closes With 34% Approval, 61% Disapproval  —  Three-quarters of Republicans approve of Bush, up slightly from recent months  — USA - Democrats - Government and Politics - Independents - Presidential Job Approval - Republicans - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America

Dems cool on Burris Senate seating  —  Roland Burris will take his seat in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, but he shouldn't expect a warm welcome.  Republicans are ready to portray Burris as a poster child for all that's wrong with the Democratic Party, and Democrats aren't sure that they want to back him if he runs for the seat in 2010.

Treasury Nominee Accounts for Own Tax Errors  —  Timothy F. Geithner, the man tapped to lead the nation out of the greatest economic crisis in decades — and who would oversee the Internal Revenue Service — trekked to Capitol Hill yesterday to explain to senators how he made almost $43,000 worth of mistakes on his own tax returns.

Bachmann's sudden transformation  —  Freshman members of Congress are supposed to be quiet, unobtrusive, deferential.  Michele Bachmann must have missed the memo.  —  At her first State of the Union address in 2007, the petite Minnesota GOP congresswoman with the sparkling blue eyes …

Poll finds low trust in feds  —  A majority of voters say their confidence in the federal government's ability is falling, according to a new Public Strategies Inc./Politico poll.  —  Sixty-two percent of respondents say their confidence in Washington has decreased over the past 12 months …

New York Republicans Want to Force Vote for Senate Pick  —  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Republicans in New York's Legislature are pushing for a special election to fill the expected vacancy in the U.S. Senate instead of allowing Democratic Gov. David Paterson to make a unilateral appointment through a secretive process.

Joe the Plumber—Out of His Depth  —  Previously in this space I remarked that PJTV's sending Joe The Plumber to Israel felt like a shark-jumping publicity stunt and it was a risk that could put PJTV's credibility at risk.  —  After watching a few reports , I felt Joe was fine, when he related things as the average Joe that he is.

Feds play candid camera with Gov. Blagojevich  —  Federal authorities used a video camera as part of their cache of tools to investigate Gov. Blagojevich in the final weeks of 2008 before his arrest, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.  —  The camera, which likely was remote-controlled …

House In Disorder: Tennessee Democrats Elect Republican Speaker  —  The mood in the hall of the General Assembly Tuesday morning oozed with anxious anticipation.  —  Republicans stood poised to take control of the Tennessee General Assembly for the first time in nearly 140 years.

House Set to Pass Child Health Bill  —  Some Complain It Falls Short of Obama's Vow of 100% Coverage  —  The House is poised to give Barack Obama a quick legislative victory by approving a bill to expand a health insurance program for children, making a down payment on the president-elect's promise …

Canada votes alone for Israel  —  VIDEO: UN chief heads to Mideast  —  We're the only one of 47 nations on UN rights panel to refuse to condemn military offensive in Gaza  —  OTTAWA-Canada stood alone before a United Nations human rights council yesterday, the only one among 47 nations …

Obama, Biden to Pay Call on Supreme Court  —  Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will welcome President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden — two senators who voted against his confirmation — to the Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon, the court announced tonight.

Retooling Obama's campaign machine for the long haul  —  The vast network that helped elect Obama will be tapped to lobby lawmakers on behalf of the president, with an eye toward reelection.  A service organization as a nonprofit arm is also considered.  —  Reporting from Washington …