We're back! Hope you've had some restful holidays and a clear-sky start to 2009. Come along for a quick tour of the upgraded Patrol...

Front page: We have a new front page, laid out to present more content in a more streamlined, easy-to-read fashion. Under the cover graphic, you'll see a strip with the latest from our new blogs. (Click each blogger's logo to go to their page.) Near the bottom of the page, look for our new Topics board, where you'll find the latest Patrol coverage of specific topics like politics, faith, movies, etc.

The Memo: The new Memo is super cool, and you should check it out at once. Instead of various headlines, it's now a bulleted list of daily news and information - everything you need to know right when you wake up. It takes two minutes to read, and you can have it sent to your inbox or feed reader each morning. Also, if you're up early and like to be the first to know and tell, we'd love you help us write the Memo. To talk about that, email us here.

New blogs: Our expanded bloghouse is a work in progress, but for now we've got two new ones: in addition to our trusty old The Scanner, which brings you mini-stories on news and culture, check out Patrol editor David Sessions and deputy editor Alisa Harris. Our new blogs are designed to give you more to read throughout the day, and a more intimate opportunity to discuss news and life with our editors and writers. We'll be adding a couple more in short order, so stay tuned. Note: Check out the "share" link under each post to send it to a friend or post it to your Facebook. Also, you can read each of our Twitter feeds on the sidebar to stalk us when you've got nothing else to do.

New ways to stay in touch:  RSS feeds, Facebook, Twitter, and our new email newsletter.

Happy new year!