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STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Israeli and U.S. citizen Robert J. Aumann and American Thomas C. Schelling have won the 2005 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. The pair won the prize "for having enhanced our understanding of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Monday. Through their work, Aumann, 75, and Schelling, 84, have helped to "explain economic conflicts such as price wars and trade wars, as well as why some communities are more successful than others in managing common-pool resources," the academy said in its citation. "The repeated-games approach clarifies the raison d'etre of...

In the latest Cato Tax and Budget Bulletin, Stephen Slivinski uses revised data released during the summer by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to make side-by-side comparisons of the spending habits of each president during the last 40 years. While the data show that all presidents presided over net increases in spending, George W. Bush is shown to be one of the biggest spenders of them all, even outpacing Lyndon B. Johnson in terms of discretionary spending. An excerpt from the report: "The increase in discretionary spending - that is, all nonentitlement programs - in Bush's first term was 48.5...

CARSON CITY, Nev. - Jack Carter, the oldest child of former President Carter, said he's considering a run for the Senate, citing unhappiness with the federal government's handling of Hurricane Katrina. "I'm more concerned than ever with the way that the country is headed," said Carter, 58. Carter told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in Tuesday's editions that he's considering a challenge of Sen. John Ensign (news, bio, voting record), R-Nev., in 2006. He termed himself a social liberal with conservative Southern roots and a business background that taught him that "you pay for what you spend." "I'm very seriously exploring...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 - The question of assisted suicide reached the Supreme Court for the second time in eight years on Wednesday, although the profound issues of professional ethics and personal autonomy that have animated the national debate largely remained outside the courtroom. Instead, lawyers for the federal government and for Oregon, the only state to have authorized physician-assisted suicide, argued over a single question: whether John Ashcroft acted within his authority as attorney general when he decided in 2001 that doctors would lose their federal prescription privileges if they followed the Oregon law's procedures and prescribed lethal doses of...

MEDICINE REGULATED BY STATES "The practice of medicine by physicians is an area traditionally regulated by the states, it is not?" O'Connor asked Solicitor General Paul Clement, the administration's top courtroom lawyer. It is not known whether O'Connor will still be on the court when it rules. She has said she will retire when her successor is confirmed by the Senate. Bush has chosen White House counsel Harriet Miers for O'Connor's seat. Justice David Souter said that 90 years of federal regulation have been aimed at stopping drug dealing and drug abuse. He described it as a "bizarre result" to...

From: John O’Neill Houston, Texas Dear Friend, Last year, when my fellow Swift Boat veterans and I spoke out about John Kerry, you rallied to our side. We will never forget your faith in our cause and your belief in our honesty. It made all the difference. Together we made history. Like most of you, I believed our mission was over. We could all move on with our lives, return to our families and homes secure in the knowledge we had done the right thing for America, and for our children’s future. Regrettably, that has not been the case for...

HUMAN EVENTS: Harriet Miers contributed $250 to Clinton for President Committee on December 23, 1991, according to Federal Election Commission records. She did not contribute any money to the reelection of President Bush senior, who would face off against the Democrat Clinton in the 1992 presidential election. On February 16, 1988, Miers contributed $1,000 to the Democratic presidential primary campaign of then-Sen. Al Gore. At the time Vice President George H.W. Bush was in a Republican presidential primary fight with then-Sen. Dole and Kemp. She did not contribute to any of these Republicans...

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court to tackle gasoline taxes and worker pay cases on the opening day of its 2005-06 term, but members will first witness John Roberts become the nation's 17th chief justice. President Bush was among those invited to the investiture ceremony, his presence a reminder that he stands to broadly shape the court, not only with his selection of Roberts but a second announcement expected soon on a successor for retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. A third vacancy on the aging court was possible before Bush's term ends in 2007. Following tradition, Roberts was to don his...

The Second-String Supreme Court ShortlistThe judges the White House just started talking about.By Emily BazelonPosted Friday, Sept. 30, 2005, at 2:03 PM PT The Bush administration has recently been professing its interest in nominating a woman or a minority to the Supreme Court—and to that end, floating a new list of judges as candidates. Two of the top names, Priscilla Owens and Janice Rogers Brown, are familiar from the Senate battle over the filibuster that eventually ended with their appointments to the federal courts of appeal. But along with them (and with these candidates) there are some judges on the shortlist...

The Supreme Court opens its 2005-6 term on Monday with a new chief justice and amid speculation that President Bush is close to choosing someone to fill a second vacancy on the court. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press President Bush, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. after a Mass in honor of the new Supreme Court term. Mr. Bush planned to go to the court on Monday for the ceremony installing John G. Roberts Jr. as chief justice of the United States. The president and the chief justice attended a religious service honoring the legal profession...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The upcoming nomination of a new US Supreme Court justice to fill a vacancy created by retiring Sandra Day O'Connor could alter a delicate political balance inside the court that plays a key role in US society. O'Connor, one of nine Supreme Court justices who is considered a moderate, announced her retirement in early July. Then, in early September, ultra-conservative US chief justice William Rehnquist died. Rehnquist was formally replaced on Thursday by former federal judge John Roberts, a dapper conservative who largely shares the views of the late chief justice. The change, however, should not alter...

<p>About 15,000 tourists remain stranded on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, as protesters continue to block ports amid industrial unrest. On Saturday police removed strikers who had occupied Ajaccio harbour, enabling hundreds to return to the mainland.</p> <p>But other sea ports - including Bastia - remain blocked by union activists.</p>

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 - After a brutal political month, Republicans are scrambling both to reassure their conservative base and to send a broader message to the American public - that they are, in fact, confronting the real-world issues of soaring gas prices, Hurricane Katrina relief, Iraq and immigration, while the Democrats are consumed with partisan warfare. In a range of interviews on Friday, Republicans acknowledged the shock waves of the last few weeks, capped by the indictment of Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the House majority leader, which forced the reorganization of the Republican House leadership even as it struggled...

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court opens its term Monday with a young new leader, a veteran justice eager to retire and a calendar packed with contentious issues such as abortion, assisted suicide and capital punishment. For the first time in 33 years, William H. Rehnquist will not be on the court. The 80-year-old chief justice died Sept. 3. Every day since, the flags in front of the court have flown at half-staff. The Rehnquist court becomes the Roberts court following a brief tradition-rich ceremony for John Roberts, who learned about the inner workings of the place a quarter-century ago while...

NEW YORK Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens would like to see all questions about how a court nominee would vote on a particular issue ruled out of bounds. Speaking at a law school conference at New York's Fordham University, Justice Stevens said a judge's pre-argument positions should not be admissible in confirmation hearings. He says they're inherently unreliable. Stevens also says learning on the job is one of the most important aspects of being a judge. Looking back over his 30 years on the high court, he outlined a series of cases in which his vote shifted from what...

The Movie: Ronnie Earle, on a Mission from God The Texas DA is inspired by the Bible to prosecute Tom DeLay. A new film featuring Travis County, Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle as he pursued the investigation that led to the indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay portrays Earle less as a partisan figure than as a messianic leader on a mission to rid American politics of the "evil" influence of money. A copy of the still-unfinished film, entitled The Big Buy, was obtained by National Review Online Friday. On several occasions in the film, Earle engages in monologues on...

WASHINGTON - Chief Justice John Roberts was getting ready for his first bench appearance and dealing with personnel matters on Friday, his first day on the job. Roberts, 50, was confirmed by the Senate a day earlier as the nation's youngest chief justice in two centuries. His new office suite in the Supreme Court faces away from the Capitol. The space had also been used by William H. Rehnquist, the chief justice who died on Sept. 3 after a yearlong battle with thyroid cancer. Roberts has asked Rehnquist's staff to stay, and he has hired Rehnquist's three law clerks. In...

<p>Judge John Roberts Jr. was sworn in Thursday as the nation's 17th chief justice, succeeding the man he once called "Boss," after the Senate voted 78-22 to confirm him, with attention quickly shifting to the next vacancy on the Supreme Court.</p>

    WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES 1924 - 2005  

New Hampshire Executive Councilor Raymond Burton, right, poses with U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, center, and New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch in front of the Statehouse in Concord, N.H., in this April 7, 2005, file photo. Burton is facing calls to resign for hiring a campaign aide he knew was a convicted child sex offender, but he said Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005, he has no intention of stepping down. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)