Lott succeeds in leadership comeback  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Trent Lott, ousted from the top Senate Republican leadership job four years ago because of remarks considered racially insensitive, won election to the No. 2 post Wednesday for the minority GOP in the next Congress.

US plans last big push in Iraq  —  Strategy document calls for extra 20,000 troops, aid for Iraqi army and regional summit  —  President George Bush has told senior advisers that the US and its allies must make "a last big push" to win the war in Iraq and that instead of beginning …

Abramoff Reports to Prison; Officials Focus on Reid, Others  —  Brian Ross and Rhonda Schwartz Report:  —  As convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff reported to federal prison today, a source close to the investigation surrounding his activities told ABC News that Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) …

Breaking: Murtha says he's got the votes to beat Hoyer; Update: Bumbling Abscam apologia video added!  —  Two minutes ago on Hardball; the video's coming.  While you wait, chew on the latest from Kucinich, who's supporting him over Hoyer for majority leader.

Carville Says Dems Should Dump Dean over "Rumsfeldian" Incompetence  —  Democratic strategist James Carville says his party should dump Howard Dean as chairman of the Democratic Party because of incompetence.  —  Carville, during coffee and rolls with political reporters today …

Class Struggle  —  American workers have a chance to be heard.  —  The most important—and unfortunately the least debated—issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century.

One More Time for Judicial Nominees  —  After calling for bipartisanship, President Bush surprised Senate Democrats with plans to renominate a controversial list of judges - some of whom may be unacceptable even to a few Republican senators.  "It's an unfortunate signal," said one senior Democratic Senate aide.

Bush reappoints overseas broadcast chief  —  WASHINGTON —President Bush on Tuesday renominated the chairman of the agency that directs U.S. overseas broadcasts even though the nomination has been stalled in the Senate amid allegations of misconduct.  —  Kenneth Y. Tomlinson was nominated again …

We Still Owe You One, Mahmoud  —  Ever since he took office, there's been speculation that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was involved in the 1979 seizure of the American embassy in Tehran.  Now, it appears the Russian newspaper Kommersant has stumbled upon more evidence to back up the rumors.

McCain Explores 2008....  Sen. John McCain will formally open his 2008 presidential exploratory committee by tomorrow a.m., an adviser said today.  —  The committee has already built a website — http://www.exploremccain.com/ — and it will stream live his speech to GOPAC, a conservative grassroots group with a strong pedigree.

Victory In the States  —  Our gains outside of Washington, D.C. were at least equal to, if not greater than, our gains within Washington, D.C. Using the information found on DLCC.org, here is what we accomplished.  —  Big Picture  —  Democrats won six Governorships, and lost none …

Ancient Crash, Epic Wave  —  At the southern end of Madagascar lie four enormous wedge-shaped sediment deposits, called chevrons, that are composed of material from the ocean floor.  Each covers twice the area of Manhattan with sediment as deep as the Chrysler Building is high.

Exultant Chuck Says He'll Veto the Next Alito  —  New King of Washington Promises Moderate Court; Rove-like, Plans Permanent Democratic Majority; More N.Y. Homeland Money, Iraqi Federalism  —  More than the inability to influence Iraq policy or the President's tax cuts …

What motivated man accused of sending threats?  —  Chad Castagana linked to several right-wing blogs … MSNBC TV  —  Anchor, 'Countdown'  —  Keith Olbermann  —  Anchor, 'Countdown' … OLBERMANN: Federal authorities still expect the preliminary hearing for Chad Conrad Castagana to continue day after tomorrow.

Uncle Sam, keep out  —  Prior to the 2006 midterm election, the closest thing to a sure bet in politics was a statewide referendum to ban same-sex marriages.  Twenty states had considered such ballot measures, and twenty states had approved them, all by wide margins.

Downie Announces Major Shifts at 'Wash Post'  —  NEW YORK In a surprising memo to staffers today, Leonard Downie, Jr., executive editor, announced several general and specific shakeups "to maximize readership of the printed newspaper, build audience on the Web site and further reduce costs in the newsroom."