Obama plans combative turn  —  President Barack Obama plans a combative response if, as White House aides fear, Democrats lose Tuesday's special Senate election in Massachusetts, close advisers say.  —  “This is not a moment that causes the president or anybody who works for him to express any doubt …

After the Massachusetts special election  —  I don't know who will win today's special election in Massachusetts.  But I do know what should happen — and what can happen — after the votes are counted and the winner is seated: Democrats should pass health-care reform.

FBI broke law for years in phone record searches  —  The FBI illegally collected more than 2,000 U.S. telephone call records between 2002 and 2006 by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not exist or simply persuading phone companies to provide records, according to internal bureau memos and interviews.

Poll: Most Don't Want Sarah Palin to Run for President  —  Posted by Kevin Hechtkopf A new CBS News poll finds that a large majority of Americans say they do not want former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to run for president.  —  Specifically, 71 percent say they do not want the former …

For Coakley, ominous sign  —  Blue Hill Avenue runs like a vein through the city.  —  It stretches for 4 miles, from River Street in Mattapan to Dudley Street in Roxbury, and a little more than a year ago there was an Obama sign on every block.  There were Obama signs in Mattapan barber shops …

A Looming Landslide For Brown  —  Democrats can stop hoping at this point.  —  I can see no alternative scenario but a huge - staggeringly huge - victory for the FNC/RNC machine tomorrow.  They crafted a strategy of total oppositionism to anything Obama proposed a year ago.

US accused of ‘occupying’ Haiti as troops flood in  —  France accused the US of “occupying” Haiti on Monday as thousands of American troops flooded into the country to take charge of aid efforts and security.  —  The French minister in charge of humanitarian relief called on the UN to …

Obama's Discontents  —  Bernard Avishai on the election in Massachusetts: … The frustration on the left with Obama — and with healthcare reform specifically — was almost inevitable.  During the campaign, a lot of people chose to see in him what they wanted to see …

Abercrombie in slight lead for governor  —  U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie is slightly ahead of Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann in the race for governor, according to a new survey of registered voters.  —  The poll taken by telephone Jan. 8-12 among 800 registered voters across the state has a margin …

Hinkle: TORTURE: Where's the Conservative Skepticism?  —  Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's failed attempt to blow up a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas Day has resurrected the debate over torture.  A Rasmussen Poll at year's end found a solid majority of Americans favor using …