If you could have your dream lunch with anyone on the planet, with whom would it be? I ask that question because Warren Buffett (search) is auctioning off on eBay (search) the opportunity for one lucky fan to do just that… with him! To the highest bidder goes the very …

WASHINGTON – The recent federal conviction of two Virginia gang members in the murder of a four-months-pregnant teenager could result in the death penalty (search) if prosecutors have their way. And if some members of Congress have their way, more such punishments will follow, and gang members could be headed …

Now some fresh pickings from the Hurricane Grapevine: Democrats, and some former government engineers, blamed President Bush for cutting the budget for the Army Corps of Engineers (search), claiming the cuts left New Orleans unprepared for a major storm. But The Washington Post reports the Bush administration has granted the …

Subjects like abortion are always heated. But two viewers didn’t care. In fact, in a week of big news stories, I’d be lucky if they even watched. Monday comes to mind. The president had a new Supreme Court (search) pick and they didn’t care. Countless newspapers were calling this president …

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine: Sea Change For the first time, more citizens of Indonesia (search), the world’s most populous Muslim nation, support the U.S. War on Terror than oppose it — and America’s response to the tsunami disaster is largely responsible for the change. In a …

WASHINGTON – With a speech that focused on providing contraceptives to poor women but added a notable tip of the hat to abstinence education, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (search) recently drew a gale of speculation — positive and negative — over whether she is anticipating a 2008 presidential run. “She …

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine: Forecast Friction Russian reporters at that press conference in Bratislava (search) may have said their press is completely free, but back in Moscow, government officials have told weather forecasters to get it right, or else. Mayor Yury Luzhkov (search) wants to fine …

Jacko’s Kids | The Telltale Tape, Sort of | Life in Santa Maria Lawyer Hints Kids Aren’t Jackson’s When the defense rested in Michael Jackson‘s child molestation case on Friday, a very important issue that had been raised was lost. Defense attorney Robert Sanger as much as conceded that the …

Death and taxes on tax day, April 15th: that is the subject of this evening’s “Talking Points Memo.” The House has passed a law that would repeal the death tax, but the Senate might once again vote to keep that un-American tax in place. Predictably, “The New York Times'” lead …

They say two billion people watched Pope John Paul II’s (search) funeral on Friday. Two billion. Millions were there in person including dignitaries the world over. Now, that’s a crowd. That’s a statement. But, it got me wondering about funerals: those that attract a lot of people and attention and …