A PUTSCH AT THE DNC?:  —  Some big name Democrats want to oust DNC Chairman Howard Dean, arguing that his stubborn commitment to the 50-state strategy and his stinginess with funds for House races cost the Democrats several pickup opportunities.  —  The candidate being floated to replace Dean?

Exclusive: Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld Over Prison Abuse  —  A lawsuit in Germany will seek a criminal prosecution of the outgoing Defense Secretary and other U.S. officials for their alleged role in abuses at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo  —  Just days after his resignation …

The Architect Speaks  —  After maintaining a relentless optimism in the face of ominous polls, Karl Rove tells TIME why Republicans wound up taking a bath on Election Night.  —  BY MIKE ALLEN/WASHINGTON  —  At the White House senior staff meeting in the Roosevelt Room at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday …

Speak Up, Democrats  —  Al Qaeda and Iran are both gloating over the U.S. election results.  AQ's chief in Iraq, Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir, actually mocked Bush while praising the Democrats' victory in the congressional mid-term contests.  According to an audio tape message attributed to Al-Mujahir …

Marine to receive Medal of Honor for Iraq heroism  —  (CNN) — President Bush announced on Friday that the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration, will be awarded posthumously to Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham.  —  In April 2004, Dunham was leading a patrol in an Iraqi town near …

Gates' views not easy to discern  —  Bush's Defense nominee has seemed alternately hawkish and moderate, leaving questions about his approach to Iraq.  —  WASHINGTON — President Bush's nominee to be the next Defense secretary once urged missile strikes on North Korea to keep the communist country from acquiring nuclear weapons.

John Conyers And The Muslim Caucus  —  Congress: The likely new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says he's just fighting bigotry in leading a Democrat jihad to deny law enforcement key terror-fighting tools.  But he is in the pocket of Islamists.  —  John Conyers, son …

Post-Election 2006: Playing the Numbers Game  —  News networks recognize Crystal Ball success rate  —  It's been a long election season—seemingly much longer than midterms past—and your Crystal Ball is happy to have served our good readers right up until the end.

Waxman Set to Probe Areas of Bush Gov't  —  The Democratic congressman who will investigate the Bush administration's running of the government says there are so many areas of possible wrongdoing, his biggest problem will be deciding which ones to pursue.  —  There's the response to Hurricane Katrina …

Bolton's Chances of Confirmation Are 'Nil,' Official Says  —  President Bush has pledged to be a bipartisan, consensus builder now that Democrats are to control Congress, and since Wednesday he has made conciliatory gestures.  The question now is whether Mr. Bush is ready to junk …

EXCLUSIVE: McCain Begins Preliminary White House Run  —  Exploratory Committee to Be Set Up This Month, No Final Decision Has Been Made  —  His party may have taken "a thumpin'," in the words of President Bush, but ABC News has learned that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his political team …

Doubling Down in Iraq  —  Warfare isn't like business.  —  Don't throw good money after bad.  When you're in a hole, stop digging.  If you've been running in the wrong direction, the first thing to do is, turn around.  —  These are the kinds of things Americans are hearing and saying about the war in Iraq.

Is This Victory?  —  The Meaning of Victory: A Conversation with General Franks  —  How should victory be defined?  —  What constitutes victory?  I think that is a fundamental question, and it is good for each of us in this country to ask ourselves that from time to time.

MuckWatch: We Pick Our Favorite Dems  —  The Democrats swept into the majority in Congress vowing to fight the culture of corruption.  Bad news for the muckraking biz, right?  Thankfully, less-than-squeaky pasts don't appear to be a factor in the Dems' reasoning as they divvy up leadership posts and committee chairs.

Muted Tones Of Quiet Authority: A Look Suited To the Speaker  —  The image of Rep. Nancy Pelosi standing in front of a formation of American flags Wednesday morning, taking questions as the presumptive new speaker of the House, was an arresting one and not simply because she is the first woman to be in that position.

Chávez attacks Bush as a 'genocidal' leader  —  Venezuela's president continued his criticism of President Bush after the pro-Chávez legislature declared that the 9/11 attacks were `self-inflicted.'  —  CARACAS - When Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chávez called President Bush …

Jack Palance dies at 87  —  Oscar-winner died of natural causes in his California home … LOS ANGELES - Jack Palance, the craggy-faced menace in "Shane," "Sudden Fear" and other films who turned successfully to comedy in his 70s with his Oscar-winning self-parody in "City Slickers," died Friday.