In deciding to hold the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York City, Attorney General Eric Holder is taking a variety of both political and legal risks, and will be forced to navigate difficult issues relating to intelligence and torture. Because many of the detainees were questioned while under duress, and some testimony against them was elicited through torture, the prosecution faces the possibility that some of the evidence will be thrown out. Holder remains confident that the untainted evidence—including a confession from Mohammed himself—is strong enough to ensure a conviction. The trial of Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, and four other suspects accused of plotting the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon is an important step in Obama's plan of eventually closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center, and the administration is running the extreme political risk that the Justice Department will fail to secure a conviction. "To the extent that there are political consequences," said Holder, "I'll just have to take my lumps."

Great minds think alike? Not quite. As the House of Representatives has debated the health-care reform bill, more than a dozen lawmakers have made statements that were eerily similar. That’s because they were written, all or in part, by lobbyists for Genentech, one of the world’s largest biotech companies. The New York Times got its hands on emails that show the lobbyists crafted one statement for Republicans and one for Democrats, and their success rate for getting those words in the Congressional Record is rather impressive. Genentech “estimates that 42 House members picked up some of its talking points—22 Republicans and 20 Democrats, an unusual bipartisan coup for lobbyists.” Wrote Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), “One of the reasons I have long supported the U.S. biotechnology industry is that it is a homegrown success story that has been an engine of job creation in this country.” So did Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO).

President Obama used a speech in Tokyo to send a message to Beijing: We come in peace. “I know there are many who question how the United States perceives China’s emergence,” Obama said, according to The New York Times. But he added, “In an interconnected world, power does not need to be a zero-sum game, and nations need not fear the success of another.” Obama also urged Asian nations to view the United States as a Pacific partner, even using his own biography to add to the case. “My own life is part of that story,” he said. “I am an American president who was born in Hawaii and lived in Indonesia as a boy. My sister Maya was born in Jakarta and later married a Chinese-Canadian. My mother spent nearly a decade working in the villages of Southeast Asia, helping women buy a sewing machine or an education that might give them a foothold in the world economy.”

Phil Shiner, a U.K. lawyer representing Iraqi victims in 33 cases of abuse being brought against British soldiers, says that there could be hundred of other cases currently being ignored. Among the accusations in the cases Shiner is handling, which are being investigated by the Ministry of Defense, are allegations of rape and torture, some quite similar to those that occurred at Abu Ghraib. "Given the history of the U.K.'s involvement in the development of these techniques alongside the U.S., it is deeply concerning that there appears to be strong similarities between instances of the use of sexual humiliation," said Shiner. Armed forces minister Bill Rammell said on BBC Radio 4 that there is no "evidence of endemic abuse within the armed forces."

A tiny blond Frenchwoman has been imported by Iceland to sniff out the suspected criminal activity that might have contributed to the virtual bankrupting of the country during the financial crisis. Eva Joly is one of the very few investigators who have had any luck bringing white-collar crooks to justice—her investigation into French oil giant Elf brought her international renown in the ‘90s. Now, the little island nation has asked her to unearth any wrongdoing in one of the biggest dramas of the credit crisis. Joly’s presence was immediately felt in Reykjavik, reports the Financial Times in a profile of the corporate-crime crusader. In the ‘80s, Iceland broke from the welfare-orientation of its fellow Scandinavian countries and became a laboratory for unfettered capitalism. Joly, who was born in Norway, “seems to relish the chance to expose the flaws in a system alien to both her native and adopted countries.”

Don’t worry: We figure Lou Dobbs will be back on the air somewhere by then. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the Obama administration will push for a path to citizenship to some 12 million illegal immigrants as early as next year. Napolitano said she feared another wave of illegal immigration once the economy improves and therefore promised a “tough and fair pathway to earned legal status,” the New York Times reports, including stricter enforcement laws against illegal immigrants and their employers and a streamlining of the legal immigration system. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) will introduce the bill in December. Predicting a big battle ahead, Gutierrez disagreed with Napolitano’s claim that increased enforcement has improved the chances of a comprehensive overhaul. Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) believe they can get 60 votes for the bill.

Surely, there will be no political fallout from this decision: A fired-up group of anti-health-care legislation activists are planning to burn effigies of Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Tom Perriello at a rally next Saturday evening. The organization, which has been lobbying the congressman for some time, feels burned by Perriello, said Danville TEA Party Chairman Nigel Coleman: "To know that Mr. Perriello is on the other side, it's a kick in the stomach that a lot of people couldn't take." Coleman pointed out that his group was "not going to actually set Perriello on fire or Ms. Pelosi on fire," but Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen felt the event was too inflammatory, and called it "shocking and despicable." Coleman believes some 100 people will attend the effigy-burning.

In a videotaped address released by the White House during Obama's flight to Singapore, the president exhorted lawmakers to put off any investigations of the Fort Hood shooting until law enforcement and the military had completed their own. "The stakes are far too high," said the president, who asked Congress to "resist the temptation to turn this tragic event into political theater." After it was revealed that the FBI knew that the shootings' only suspect, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, had contacted a radical Imam in Yemen, Obama ordered a review of all intelligence gathered on Hasan, and how that intelligence was shared between agencies. Some congressmen, including Howard McKeon (R-CA), the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, and Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, have said they will open their own investigations. Obama indicated that he was open to the possibility of hearings, but not while law enforcement and military authorities were in the middle of investigations.

Rip City took its first step toward Ripped City on Friday when the Cannabis Cafe, the first marijuana cafe in the United States, opened for business. Taking over a space once home to a speakeasy and an "erotic club" called Rumpspankers, Eric Solomon, the cafe's owner, plans on serving marijuana free over the counter to members who pay a $25 monthly fee. Oregon, which allows the cultivation, possession, and use of marijuana for medical purposes and has about 21,000 registered medical-marijuana users, now tests the Obama administration's announcement that it would not prosecute medical marijuana-related offenses in states where marijuana has been legalized for medical use—even though federal law still does not make a distinction between medical and recreational use of marijuana. Neither federal nor local law-enforcement agencies would comment on the Cannabis Cafe's grand opening.

A suicide bomber targeting a police checkpoint in Peshawar killed at least 11 people on Saturday, according to officials, and at least 25 others were injured. According to reports from the scene, a car wired with explosives was detonated as police moved to search it while it waited at the checkpoint. The incident was the third bombing in as many weeks in Peshawar, which was also the site of another car bomb on Friday and an explosion at a market two weeks ago that killed 100.

Robert Gibbs may be holding his breath the entire time, but the White House is turning loose Vice President Joe Biden for an appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The show will feature Biden on Tuesday, the first time he's been on the show since the election, The New York Times reports. He previously made two appearances in 2007 as a senator and a presidential candidate. President Obama last went on the show on October 29, 2008, days before the election.

Roland Emmerich's 2012 features John Cusack racing to survive apocalyptic floods, earthquakes, and fire from the sky, but according to reviews you'd have a better time in the movie than watching it. Rolling Stone's Peter Travers writes that the film "works the dubious miracle of almost matching Transformers 2 for sheer, cynical, mind-numbing, time-wasting, money-draining, soul-sucking stupidity." The film cost a reported $260 million, but according to the New York Daily News' Elizabeth Weitzman they forgot to budget for a story that goes beyond "the highest-paid members of an indifferent cast [who] survive the massive floods and giant fireballs that cause our planet's destruction." Still, the special effects garnered praise from some critics, with Detroit News' Tom Long conceding it had an "awful efficiency" despite being "the largest-scale snuff film ever made."

Sarah Palin’s long-awaited memoir may have gone rogue from the facts, according to the Associated Press’ advance look at her book. The former vice-presidential candidate depicts herself as someone who is frugal with taxpayer money when traveling and who rejected donations from powerful corporations, the AP says, but her record indicates otherwise. The former Alaskan governor stayed at a luxurious New York City hotel with her daughter in 2007. She says her gubernatorial campaign took mostly small donations from first-time givers, but more than half her war chest came from people and PACs who gave at least $500. And she blurs the lines between the Obama stimulus plan and the federal bailout that President George W. Bush signed. She implies that Ronald Reagan repealed the “death tax” (he didn’t). She says she stood against conflicts of interest, but pushed for a special zoning exception so she could sell her family’s $327,000 house. The book “has all the characteristics of a pre-campaign manifesto.”

A 16-year-old grey tabby cat’s death caused a bit of international hysteria this week. On Tuesday night, as 1,700 Conservatives luminaries gathered for a black-tie affair in Toronto, Canadian Transport Minister John Baird sent a short text message to a friend and fellow attendee that read, “Thatcher has died.” Though Baird was referring to his dearly departed cat, the message rapidly spread the rumor that conservative icon and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher dead. Phone calls flooded baffled officials at both 10 Downing Street and Buckingham Palace. A top aide alerted Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the loss and “started preparing an official statement mourning the passing of the Iron Lady,” the BBC said. But once the news reached Canada that the 84-year-old Baroness Thatcher was still breathing, conservatives and Thatcher the Cat could rest easy.

Passing out after a long night out has been less of a problem thanks to the alcohol-infused energy drinks that have become available over the past few years. But on Friday, the Food and Drug Administration asked manufacturers to prove the safety of the reported drink of choice for a quarter of college students. Those who mix caffeine and alcohol are at a higher risk of injury than those who drink uncaffeinated alcohol, according to a Wake Forest University study. Last year, several state attorneys general successfully sued Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors to remove caffeine from two drinks. Now, the FDA is asking nearly 30 similar manufacturers to offer scientific proof that their products are safe within the next 30 days. The agency will review the manufacturers’ findings and determine whether the drinks can remain on the market.

Nicolas Cage has lost a lot of his national treasure in the past two weeks, and two New Orleans homes are the latest casualties of his financial collapse. The 45-year-old actor’s two historic French Quarter houses were purchased in a foreclosure auction on Thursday for $4.5 million. The sum, two-thirds of the real estate’s appraised value, went to Cage’s lender, Regions Bank, the only bidder in the auction. On Friday, movers were reportedly seen clearing out the Leaving Las Vegas star’s belongings. Coincidentally, Cage’s next film Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans comes out this month as he continues to sell off homes in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Rhode Island in order to pay off the $6 million he owes in federal taxes. Neither the actor’s representative or Regions Bank returned People’s calls for comment.

Three-term Sen. Robert Bennett of Utah is facing one of the toughest reelection campaigns next year, even though no political or personal scandal has sullied his reputation. Bennett is certainly no liberal—he’s a successful Salt Lake City businessman whose grandfather was president of the Mormon Church—but some fellow Republicans now find him not sufficiently conservative to reelect. In fact, it’s his long résumé that’s also hurting him at a time when the country is in an anti-incumbent mood: In a national Pew Research poll, only 52 percent of registered voters said they would like to see their representative reelected next year. Bennett laments, “There’s not a place on the ballot to mark, ‘I hate what’s going on Washington.’”

The number of gay people on TV has increased in recent years—beyond Ellen and Will & Grace, there are now characters on Glee, Modern Family, Ugly Betty, Entourage, and others. But even though mainstream Americans have welcomed a variety of gay characters into their living rooms, their state governments have become more hostile, with Maine and California reversing their same-sex marriage laws. Could it be that recent characters like Glee's Kurt, a fashion-obsessed Beyoncé aficionado, or the ice skating-loving couple on Modern Family perpetuate mockery of gay men? Reality stars, like American Idol's Adam Lambert and Project Runway's Christian Siriano, fall into similar pigeonholes. Lesbians on TV are often conveniently bisexual. "If you want to be invited to someone else's party, sometimes you have to dress the part," Newsweek's Ramin Setoodeh writes, citing Rachel Maddow's lipstick. "It's not that gay men and women should pretend to be straight... The key is balance."