When my mother was alive, she used to preach to me again and again about the value of just being nice. “Never underestimate the power of a smile,” she would say. I fear she would be very disappointed looking at the world today. A lot of people don’t smile and, …

The latest from the Political Grapevine: Verifying Victory Miami Herald reporters who conducted an independent recount in three heavily democratic Florida counties say that President Bush’s lopsided victory there is legitimate. Critics have questioned the President’s strong showing in the Florida panhandle (search), where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to …

To watch “The Talking Points Memo” click here. Hi, I’m Bill O’Reilly. Thank you for watching us tonight. Another very troubling illegal alien situation to tell you about. That is the subject of this evening’s Talking Points Memo. On December 19, a 42-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by five illegal …

New York – Rare is the film producer these days whose resume includes not only high grossing films, but high quality films.David Brown (search)is one of them. Brown’s creditsas a producer or studio chief (at one time he ran production forTwentieth Century Fox with his producing partnerRichard Zanuck (search)),include someof …

ATLANTA – A group of Tennessee parents are livid about a teen magazine ad for a company known for its provocative acronym,FCUK (search). Clothing store company French Connection United Kingdom ran an ad for one of its perfumes in Seventeen magazine, which is available at severalKnox County (search)public school librariesin …

Dear Viewers, I promised you behind the scenes “stuff” about our show… In between our shows before Christmas, we managed to have a show Christmas party in New York. I thought I would share with you some of the photos: • Check out the photo essay Greta Please write to …

And now some fresh pickings from the wartime grapevine: FOX Fans: Missed the Grapevine? Watch it in the Screening Room! News Flash The Los Angeles Times has fired a photographer in Iraq for altering a photograph that wound up on Monday’s front page. Some sharp-eyed editors eventually noticed something suspicious: …

ROME – The Italian Navy is resuming exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, including near the coast of Libya, amid concerns about rapidly deteriorating security in the North African nation. The exercise will begin on Monday. It includes anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and anti-ship training operations. The exercise was suspended for a year …

GENEVA – With the opening of the inaugural European Games in Baku 100 days away, human rights groups have called on host nation Azerbaijan to release political prisoners held on “trumped up” charges. Amnesty International released a report citing “the mounting persecution of government critics, detained under false charges.” Human …

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Dutch police have sent two pieces of soap purportedly dating back to World War II for forensic tests to establish if they contain human remains — possibly of Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Police in the northern town of Dokkum said in a statement Friday that …