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Airline Passenger Who Made Threat Killed — MIAMI - A passenger who claimed to have a bomb in a carry-on bag was shot and killed by a federal air marshal Wednesday on a jetway to an American Airlines plane that had arrived from Colombia, officials said. — Homeland Security Department …
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Air Marshal Kills Passenger, Citing Threat — MIAMI (AP) - An agitated passenger who claimed to have a bomb in his backpack was shot and killed by a federal air marshal Wednesday after he bolted frantically from a jetliner that was boarding for takeoff, officials said. No bomb was found.

Official: Marshal shoots passenger on Jetway at Miami airport — MIAMI, Florida (CNN) — A person was shot and wounded on the Jetway to an American Airlines passenger jet that was at the terminal at Miami International Airport, an airline official said. — A federal official told CNN …

Fitzgerald Presents New Information to Grand Jury — First Appearance in Probe Since Libby Indictment — Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald appeared this morning to present information to a new grand jury in the CIA leak investigation. — Fitzgerald has been probing for two years …
Discussion:
David Corn, firedoglake, Associated Press, TalkLeft, Think Progress and IntoxiNation-News …
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Rove's Lawyer an On-the-Record Liar — At Arianna's HuffPo party last month, Mickey Kaus was surprised when I told him I did not think Bob Luskin was a liar. In several posts here, I've had my fun with Luskin's endless media spinning on behalf of his most famous client, Karl Rove, but I have never said he is a liar.
Discussion:
TalkLeft

Rice Clarifies U.S. Interrogation Methods — Statement Appears to Mark Significant Shift in Policy — KIEV, Ukraine, Dec. 7 — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the United States had banned all of its personnel from conducting cruel or inhumane interrogations of prisoners.
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O'Reilly promised to "bring horror" to alleged "anti-Christian forces" who oppose Christmas … On the December 2 broadcast of Fox News' The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, host Bill O'Reilly stated that he would "use all the power that I have on radio and television to bring horror into the world of people" …
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US Blasts Security Council for Failing to Condemn Terror Attack in Israel — Washington's ambassador to the United Nations has criticized the Security Council for failing to condemn the latest terrorist attack in Israel. — The envoy singled out Algeria for blocking a U.S. drafted statement.

President Discusses War on Terror and Rebuilding Iraq — Washington, D.C. — In Focus: Renewal in Iraq — Fact Sheet: Rebuilding Iraq — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Richard, thanks for the invitation. Thanks for letting me come by and address the Council on Foreign Relations.
Discussion:
Austin Bay Blog, Gateway Pundit, No End But Victory, AMERICAN FUTURE and THE CUNNING REALIST
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Army project illustrates promise, shortcomings of data mining — In the spring of 2000, a year and a half before the 9/11 attacks, Erik Kleinsmith made a decision that history may judge as a colossal mistake. — Then a 35-year-old Army major assigned to a little-known intelligence organization …
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Poll: Bush's Ratings Bump Up — (CBS) There is good news and bad news in this poll for President George W. Bush. Americans have become more positive about the economy; more than half think the economy is in good shape, an 8-point increase since October. — The President's overall approval rating …

Governor's Relative Is Big Contract Winner — PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss., Dec. 6 - Rosemary Barbour happens to be married to a nephew of Mississippi's governor, Haley Barbour. Since the Reagan administration, when Mrs. Barbour worked as a White House volunteer as a college student, she has been active in the Republican Party.

Administration objects to story describing Alito as conservative — WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is mounting an aggressive effort to counter a Knight Ridder story that described Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito as a committed judicial conservative.

Sources: Menendez tapped for U.S. Senate seat — Democratic Caucus head reported to succeed Corzine — WASHINGTON (CNN) — New Jersey Gov.-elect Jon Corzine will name Rep. Robert Menendez, chairman of the Democratic Caucus, as his successor in the U.S. Senate, multiple New Jersey Democratic sources told CNN Wednesday.

President and Mrs. Bush Participate in Menorah Lighting Ceremony — THE PRESIDENT: Welcome to the White House. Laura and I are glad you're here, and we're glad to be here to celebrate the festival of Hanukkah. Hanukkah begins later this month; it's a time to remember the story …
Discussion:
Kesher Talk

Pinter rails against US in Nobel prize speech — Age and sickness have not wearied him. Harold Pinter used the platform of his Nobel prize for literature yesterday to call for the prosecution of George W Bush and Tony Blair for the invasion of Iraq. He called it "a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism".
Discussion:
TalkLeft

How do you tackle an invasion of giant jellyfish? Try making sushi — THEY are called echizen kurage and they sound like monsters from the trashier reaches of Japanese science fiction. — They are 6ft wide and weigh 450lb (200kg), with countless poisonous tentacles …