Gore cancels climate conference event  —  Former Vice President Al Gore on Thursday abruptly canceled a Dec. 16 personal appearance that was to be staged during the United Nations' Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, which begins next week.  —  As described in The Washington Times' Inside …

Palin: Obama birth certificate ‘a fair question’  —  Speaking to the conservative talker Rusty Humphries today, Sarah Palin left the door open to speculation about President Obama's birth certificate.  —  “Would you make the birth certificate an issue if you ran?” she was asked (around 9 minutes into the video above).

Bernanke Channels Willie Sutton In Assault On Social Security: 'That's Where The Money Is'  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Ben Bernanke has overseen the greatest expansion of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet in its history, pouring trillions of dollars into Wall Street firms at roughly zero interest rates.

Reform or Else  —  Health care reform hangs in the balance.  Its fate rests with a handful of “centrist” senators — senators who claim to be mainly worried about whether the proposed legislation is fiscally responsible.  —  But if they're really concerned with fiscal responsibility …

C.I.A. Authorized to Expand Use of Drones in Pakistan  —  WASHINGTON — Two weeks ago in Pakistan, Central Intelligence Agency sharpshooters killed eight people suspected of being militants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and wounded two others in a compound that was said to be used for terrorist training.

Unemployment Rate Falls to 10%  —  U.S. job losses slowed sharply in November and the unemployment rate unexpectedly declined, in a sign the labor market is finally starting to heal as the economy recovers.  —  Nonfarm payrolls fell by just 11,000 last month, slowing down from a downwardly …

NATO Pledges 7,000 More Troops for Afghanistan  —  BRUSSELS — Responding to American entreaties for more soldiers in Afghanistan, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO secretary general, announced Friday that the alliance had agreed to contribute a further 7,000 “new forces” to the coalition …

Sen. Reid has recipe for getting health-care deal done  —  Senate's point man for bill has been slow to tip his hand as he faces challenges  —  Of the Democratic senators who have set out to transform the nation's health-care system, one of the least likely is Majority Leader Harry M. Reid …

House votes to make current estate tax permanent  —  The House approved Thursday a measure making the current estate tax rate permanent, overcoming the objections of an unusual coalition of liberal and conservative critics.  —  The bill passed, 225 to 200, with 26 Democrats joining …

The ‘science’ of global warming  —  These leaked documents reveal the greatest scientific scandal of our times—and a tragedy  —  “The gravest challenge that we face is climate change . .  . Every one of our compatriots must feel concerned”—Nicolas Sarkozy, president of the French Republic;

ABC offers morning show to Stephanopoulos, sources say  —  ABC has offered George Stephanopoulos the coveted job of co-hosting “Good Morning America,” and intensive negotiations are under way, sources familiar with the situation said Thursday.  —  While the network's chief Washington correspondent …

Somebody at Fort Hood Should Be Walking the Plank — By: Andy McCarthy  —  Prepare to be infuriated.  —  It's been brought to my attention by several reliable sources that the Defense Department has brought Louay Safi to Fort Hood as an instructor, and that he has been lecturing on Islam …

Why the plutocrats will return  —  Is the US government powerless to prevent the return of the plutocrats?  Or does it actually, secretly, need the plutocrats to return?  Here's Tim Geithner, today: … Translation: we need to return to our bubble-era levels of income.

Coburn, Vitter want to force Congress into public health plan  —  Two of the Senate's most ardent opponents of a public health program, Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and David Vitter (R-La.), are preparing an amendment to force members of Congress into any plan that is passed.

The battle for Teddy's seat  —  NEWTON, Mass. — For years, the anticipation loomed.  —  Just wait, Massachusetts politicos whispered, until one of the state's two coveted Senate seats comes open.  With all the ambitious, hard-charging Democrats in the House delegation and another generation …