Pelosi 'will ensure' Murtha win, Murtha ally says  —  House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will ensure that Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) wins his race for majority leader, a key Murtha ally said Monday night.  —  "She will ensure that they [the Murtha camp] win.

Iran 'is training the next al-Qa'eda leaders'  —  Iran is seeking to take control of Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'eda terror network by encouraging it to promote officials known to be friendly to Teheran, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.  —  According to recent reports received by Western intelligence agencies …

Answer to Iraq lies in Middle East, says Blair  —  Tony Blair has opened the prospect of a new partnership with Iran and Syria tonight as he insisted that the "answer to Iraq" lay in the wider Middle East.  —  But, while setting out a strategy to resolve tensions across the whole region …

The Military Commissions Act in action  —  The Bush administration's treatment of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri ought to be shocking and horrifying.  Instead, it is now not only depressingly familiar, but also something that is formally sanctioned by the U.S. Congress.

Get Jim in Here, Pronto!  —  If I told you that there was something in Washington called the Baker commission but didn't tell you what it was about, you still could probably name many of its members.  If you are of a certain age, you might wonder, "Jim or Howard?"  And you might have a quibble or two.

Blogging for Bolton  —  The Democrats want John Bolton's scalp.  This is a moment for conservatives to stand up to the Left's empty, vindictive obstructionism and support a strong voice for America's interests at the corrupted, soft-on-jihad offices of Turtle Bay.  —  We're videoblogging for Bolton over at Hot Air.

Al-Qaida plotting nuclear attack on UK, officials warn  —  Vikram Dodd  —  British intelligence officials believe that al-Qaida is determined to attack the UK with a nuclear weapon, it emerged yesterday.  The announcement, from an officially organised Foreign Office counter-terrorism briefing …

Lott running for whip post  —  After keeping his plans close to the vest since Election Day, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) formally declared his bid for minority whip on Monday evening.  —  Lott had refrained from openly discussing his intentions for the whip race even after GOP Conference …

Outrage as Church backs calls for severely disabled babies to be killed at birth  —  The Church of England has broken with tradition dogma by calling for doctors to be allowed to let sick newborn babies die.  —  Christians have long argued that life should preserved at all costs …

The Trash Princess  —  Why Americans love to hate Paris Hilton  —  Maybe 500 channels and an epidemic of bloggerhea mean that Americans have less of a common culture, but we all still share . . . Paris Hilton.  The naughty blond heiress is, like, wallpapering our brains.