Obama Is Set to Shuffle His Staff  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is planning the first major reorganization of his administration, preparing to shuffle several positions in the West Wing as he tries to fortify his political team for the realities of divided government and his own re-election.

U.S. Approved Business With Blacklisted Nations  —  Despite sanctions and trade embargoes, over the past decade the United States government has allowed American companies to do billions of dollars in business with Iran and other countries blacklisted as state sponsors of terrorism, an examination by The New York Times has found.

The Humbug Express  —  Hey, has anyone noticed that “A Christmas Carol” is a dangerous leftist tract?  —  I mean, consider the scene, early in the book, where Ebenezer Scrooge rightly refuses to contribute to a poverty relief fund.  “I'm opposed to giving people money for doing nothing,” he declares.

Napolitano Scolds Reporter for Airing Complaints of Dead Border Agent's Family  —  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, leaving the funeral of a murdered Border Patrol agent Wednesday, scolded a reporter for asking her to address the victim's family's concerns that not enough is being done to secure the southern border.

We misunderestimated him: Bush's memoir sells 2m copies in a month - nearly as many as Bill Clinton's sold in six years  —  For someone who mangled words on a regular basis, it's an impressive feat.  —  Former U.S. President George W Bush's memoir has sold an astonishing two million copies since …

Biden sees ‘inevitability’ for gay marriage  —  Vice President Joseph Biden said in a television interview Friday that “there's an inevitability for a national consensus on gay marriage.”  —  The vice president, who backs civil unions but not same-sex marriage, weighed in on the issue …

Woman arrested at ABIA after refusing enhanced pat down  —  Early Wednesday morning, a computer glitch shut down a security checkpoint for a couple of hours at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.  The line snaked out the door as many travelers waited for more than an hour and some missed their flights.

God often surprises us, says Pope in BBC broadcast  —  The recording followed months of negotiations between the BBC and the Vatican  —  God is faithful to his promises but often surprises us by how he fulfils them, the Pope has said in his first BBC radio broadcast.

It's all politics, claims Julian Assange  —  WikiLeaks founder says it would be ‘politically impossible’ for Britain to extradite him to the US  —  Julian Assange said today that it would be “politically impossible” for Britain to extradite him to the United States, and that the final word …

Pryor, four other Ohio State football players receive five-game suspensions in 2011  —  Terrelle Pryor and four of his Ohio State teammates will be suspended from the first five games of the 2011 season because of NCAA violations, the school and NCAA announced today.

Obama Family Vacation Runs Into Troubled Waters: Again  —  The first family just can't seem to enjoy a beach vacation near clean, pristine water, and the current presidential vacation is no different.  —  Hawaii has been plagued with heavy rains recently, and the Oahu village of Kailua …

Whoops: homosexuals lose “get out of jail free” card  —  According to National Review Online, there may be a whole lot of homosexuals who just got an unpleasant surprise.  With the repeal of the law prohibiting homosexual service in the United States military, they just lost their “get out of jail free” card.

Experts Citing Rising Hopes for Recovery in Coming Year  —  WASHINGTON — Eighteen months after the recession officially ended, the government's latest measures to bolster the economy have led many forecasters and policy makers to express new optimism that the recovery will gain substantial momentum in 2011.

EPA vows to enforce curbs on emissions  —  The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it will regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and oil refineries next year in an attempt to curb global warming.  —  The move, coming on the same day the Interior Department unveiled …

Rahm wins residency fight - Ashcroft backs Wagner - Friday standings: Pelosi up, Kyl down - Huck shoots down Fox chatter - NRA swoons for Christie - ARG ranks 2010 pollsters  —  FIRST IN SCORE - ASHCROFT ENDORSES: Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is backing Ann Wagner's bid to lead …

Sarah Palin Uses Info Gleaned From ‘Treasonous’ WikiLeaks To Pen Op-Ed On Dangers Of Iran  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … Sarah Palin sought to build her foreign policy credentials on Tuesday, with a new op-ed arguing that the Obama administration needs to “toughen up” on Iran based on information …

Bush Policy on Lands Is Reversed  —  The Interior Department reversed a Bush-era policy on wilderness on Thursday, restoring the authority of its Bureau of Land Management to identify and recommend new areas for protection.  —  Since 2003, the department has excluded wilderness as a criterion …

Crisis Of The Public Intellectual  —  Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy  —  A few days ago a friend of mine who works at MSNBC asked if I'd come on to talk about Haley Barbour.  I declined because Kenyatta had a final that evening and my son had math homework, as well as a bedtime.