Updates From Plane Rescue in Hudson River  —  Read complete coverage from The Times, including a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com / 2009/01/15/from-ferry-decks-and-offices - a-view-of-the-crash/">more eyewitness accounts compiled on City Room.  —  The New York Police Department just sent …

The Elephant in the Room: McCain may be Obama's secret weapon  —  A desire by both men to secure their places in history might forge an unlikely pairing.  —  I have been to New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington in recent weeks.  In those cities, at least, you cannot watch the news …

Full Text of President George W. Bush's Farewell Address  —  (UPDATE: The President made very very minor changes to the prepared text in his actual delivery.  We've made them in bolface below.  President-elect Obama did not watch the speech; he went out to dinner just as it was beginning.)

Obama To Hold Fiscal Responsibility Summit  —  President-elect Barack Obama visits the Post newsroom after a meeting with the editorial board and Washington Post Co. Chairman Don Graham, right.  (Photo, The Washington Post)  —  President-elect Barack Obama will convene a “fiscal responsibility summit” …

Intelligence Court Rules Wiretapping Power Legal  —  WASHINGTON — A federal intelligence court, in a rare public opinion, issued a major ruling validating the power of the president and Congress to wiretap international phone calls and intercept e-mail messages without a specific court order …

Beam me up: Scientists left baffled as mysterious columns of coloured light appear in the night skies  —  These stunning images show mysterious columns of light streaming into the sky above the town of Sigulda in Latvia at the end of last month.  —  Taken by designer Aigar Truhins …

West Wing ‘Ghost Town’  —  From long-time ABC News White House correspondent Ann Compton:  —  President and Mrs. Bush fly to Camp David Friday afternoon for a final weekend in the rustic seclusion of “the Camp.”  Over the next 36 hours, White House staffers will go through the behind …

Holder to Senate: ‘Waterboarding is torture’  —  Obama's nominee for attorney general vows break with controversial tactic  —  Attorney General-nominee Eric Holder and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., shake hands just prior to Holder's confirmation hearing on Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Commitee.

Did Obama Skip Bush's Speech?  —  As his predecessor, President Bush, said his final goodbyes to America on national television, President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle dined at the DC restaurant, Equinox Thursday night.  —  CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic, who waited outside the restaurant …

Follow Jesus Like Nazis Followed Hitler, Rick Warren Tells Stadium Crowd  —  On April 17, 2005, at the southern California Anaheim Angels sports stadium thirty thousand Saddleback Church members, more than ever gathered in one spot, assembled to celebrate Saddleback's 25th anniversary …

O'Reilly Freaks Out Over the Thought of Holding Bush Admin Torturers Culpable  —  Bill O'Reilly came briefly unhinged last night, but managed to keep himself from having one of his infamous all-out temper tantrums.  I thought for sure he was about to start shouting, “Do it live!  F—k it!

Vince Foster, Fifteen Years Later  —  I was looking over a daily almanac and saw that Vincent Foster would have been 64 years old today.  In the 1990s, I spent a lot of time covering his death, beginning with trip to Fort Marcy Park the morning after his body was discovered.

Hamas minister Siam dies in IAF strike  —  The IDF stepped up pressure on Hamas on Thursday, killing Interior Minister Said Siam and pushing deep into Gaza City as defense officials predicted a cease-fire would begin soon.  —  Siam, the most senior Hamas political leader killed since Operation …

10 Take Aways From the Bush Years  —  There's actually a lot that President-elect Barack Obama can learn from the troubled presidency of George W. Bush.  Over the past eight years, I have interviewed President Bush for nearly 11 hours, spent hundreds of hours with his administration's key players …

As Stimulus Bill Drops, Obey Controls High Expectations — and Obama  —  David Obey (D-WI), the House Appropriations Committee chairman, just met with reporters in his bright corner office to discuss the $825 billion economic stimulus bill that was released today.

Report: Israel, Hamas agree on 2-week truce  —  Palestinian sources tell Ynet fighting in Gaza to cease within 72 hours for period of two weeks, during which sides will discuss supervision of crossings, IDF withdrawal from Strip and removal of blockade  —  Palestinian sources told Ynet …

10 Questions about the Economic Stimulus Bill  —  The $800 billion economic “stimulus” bill may be more appropriately called the “Obama debt plan.”  It will, after all, dump $6,700 per household of new debt into the laps of our children and grandchildren.  —  Whether it will actually stimulate the economy is another matter.

Protesters label Redford an enemy of the poor  —  Oil and gas drilling » Clergymen link famed moviemaker's stance to racism.  —  Hollywood's Sundance Kid is hurting poor people.  —  So say some East Coast ministers and conservative activists, who took to the streets in front …