Carl Sullivan

David Kurtz at Talking Points Memo notes that a year ago, he wouldn't have considered South Carolina to be among the states with the craziest politics. That was before Mark Sanford's Appalachian adventure, Joe Wilson's outburst, and various other political wackiness.

South Carolina: We've got Mark Sanford and Joe Wilson. And don't even get us started on history.

When members of the Tectonic Theater Project descended on Laramie, Wyo., a few weeks after the murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard in 1998, local residents didn't quite know what to make of the actors and writers trolling around town with tape recorders.

The surprise winner of Sunday night's Golden Globes? "Milk Meets Nixon." No, your author isn't suffering from a champagne-fueled Jack Nicholson/Elizabeth Taylor-like moment.

By Carl Sullivan The gift of gab is no handicap in politics, so it's not surprising that the 2008 presidential and VP candidates have Irish roots-all of them.

It's women's night at the Republican National Convention. Well, not officially. Tonight, the convention in St. Paul is sticking to its overall theme, "Country First," with a special emphasis on "reform." And a roster of 2008 presidential contenders (all male) will be addressing the crowd.But the fairer sex clearly has the spotlight.

The Republicans were playing a little Electoral College math when they chose St. Paul for their convention. And indeed most news organizations' electoral maps consider Minnesota a swing state. (See NEWSWEEK's map and Karl Rove's analysis of the swing-state landscape.) Three recent statewide polls show Barack Obama leading, but only by slight margins.

By Carl Sullivan While Hurricane Gustav has wreaked havoc on the Republican convention's schedule, the Louisiana delegation that made its way to St. Paul has been especially distracted. "There's no question that our delegation is torn in our hearts and in our thoughts because we've been glued to the television, talking on the telephones, trying to get updates on what's happening," said state Rep.

My regular morning commute from Sunnyside, Queens, to Midtown Manhattan is fairly typical by New York standards. It usually takes 25 to 35 minutes, including a two-block walk to the subway, one change of trains, and a two-block walk from the subway exit to the office.

Everyone loves lists. They certainly sell magazines. (Think "The 10 Hottest Stocks" or "5 Easy Ways to Please Your Man.") They apparently sell books, too.

NEWSWEEK: It's hard to believe it's been 10 years.John Hansen: It's really hard to believe because it's still so fresh in the memory of all the emergency responders and survivors.How prepared were Oklahoma City officials for that day?We were probably as prepared as we could have been.

Cullman, 85, built his fortune through leveraged buyouts, after helping engineer what many consider the first LBO, of Orkin Exterminating Co., in 1963. After selling the At-A-Glance calendar company to Mead in 1999, Cullman started giving away his millions, supporting the New York Public Library, American Museum of Natural History and many other organizations.Cullman recently spoke with NEWSWEEK's Carl Sullivan about tsunami relief, the estate-tax repeal and his views on why more people should...

Many of the areas hit by Sunday's devastating earthquake off the coast of Indonesia and the resulting tsunamis are home not only to some of the poorest people in the world, but also to various rebel movements.

IBM will no longer sell personal computers. It's an understatedly simple statement, but it describes a fundamental shift in the global PC market. On Dec. 7, Big Blue announced the sale of its PC division for $1.75 billion to Lenova, a Chinese PC manufacturer ranked eighth globally but virtually unknown in the United States.

It's a parent's worst nightmare: the hottest holiday toy is impossible to find. Store shelves are empty. The nightly news broadcasts adults fighting over dolls at the local Wal=Mart.

When The New York Times sued the Justice Department this week to quash a federal prosecutor's attempt to access a reporter's telephone records, it was just the latest volley in an increasingly pitched battle over journalists' rights to protect their confidential sources.