Pelosi Puts Weight Behind Murtha in Leader Bid  —  Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), in line to become Speaker in January, is throwing her support to Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) in the race for Majority Leader, a move that will be an early test of her influence and will weigh heavily on Murtha's contest …

Democrats Push for Troop Cuts Within Months  —  Democratic leaders in the Senate vowed on Sunday to use their new Congressional majority to press for troop reductions in Iraq within a matter of months, stepping up pressure on the administration just as President Bush is to be interviewed …

China sub secretly stalked U.S. fleet  —  A Chinese submarine stalked a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in the Pacific last month and surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and missiles before being detected, The Washington Times has learned.  —  The surprise encounter highlights …

Lieberman a Wild Card in Iraq Policy  —  Senator Says Bipartisan Effort Is Needed for a Successful End  —  Voters seemed to be speaking loudly and clearly about Iraq last week when they elected war critics such as Bernard Sanders of Vermont, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and James Webb of Virginia to the Senate.

For Conservatives, It's Back to Basics  —  THE morning after the Republican drubbing in the midterm elections, Ken Mehlman, chairman of the party, headed to the weekly coalition meeting where limited government conservatives, Christian traditionalists and gun-rights groups gathered to plot strategy.

Bush approval drops, Democrats' goals backed -poll  —  Source: Reuters  —  Just days after Democrats took over Congress, Americans embraced their top goals and President George W. Bush's job approval rating slid to 31 percent, according to a Newsweek poll issued on Saturday.

Knox Co. commissioner stands up to gunman's robbery attempt  —  POWELL (WATE) — A Knox County commissioner did not let a gunman rob his business.  Instead he pulled out his own gun.  —  The tense moments took place Saturday inside Greg "Lumpy" Lambert's car dealership, Advantage Auto Sales on Clinton Highway.

Fresh Off the Farm in Montana, a Senator-to-Be  —  "He's a small farmer from the homestead,'' a friend says of Jon Tester. "  That's absolutely who he is.  When he joins the United States Senate in January, big Jon Tester — who is just under 300 pounds in his boots …

The Prodigal Returns  —  Supporting Cast: Bush 41's national-security team, in 1991.  From far left, Scowcroft, Gates, Cheney, Quayle, Baker, Bush and Powell.  —  George Herbert Walker Bush is a proud father; tears easily come to his eyes when he thinks of his children, all of them …

Stupid party decides  —  WASHINGTON — The depleted House Republican caucus, a minority in the next Congress, convenes at 8 a.m. in the Capitol Friday on the brink of committing an act of supreme irrationality.  The House members blame their leadership for tasting the bitter dregs of defeat.

The Donald Rumsfeld I Know  —  Much of what you know about Donald Rumsfeld is wrong.  —  I worked intimately with Rumsfeld for four years, from the summer of 2001 until I left the Pentagon in August 2005.  Through countless meetings and private conversations, I came to learn his traits …

CAIR's Congress  —  With the Democratic victory in the midterm elections, one big winner was the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).  The American Islamic pressure group now has a chance to advance its agenda in numerous ways, with energetic water-carrying by, among others …

True Blue Populists  —  Senator George Allen of Virginia is understandably shocked and despondent.  Just a year ago, a National Review cover story declared that his "down-home persona" made him "quite possibly the next president of the United States."  Instead, his political career seems over.

The realists take charge in Washington  —  Editor's note: The following is a summary of this week's Time magazine cover story.  —  (Time.com ) — This was a big deal.  Certainly, it was the end of George W. Bush's radical experiment in partisan governance.