Unfit for Majority Leader  —  The videotape is grainy, dark and devastating.  The congressman and the FBI undercover agents — the congressman thinks they represent an Arab sheik willing to pay $50,000 to get immigration papers — are talking business in the living room of a secretly wired Washington townhouse.

Get Out Now?  Not So Fast, Experts Say  —  One of the most resonant arguments in the debate over Iraq holds that the United States can move forward by pulling its troops back, as part of a phased withdrawal.  If American troops begin to leave and the remaining forces assume a more limited role …

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.

Scores of academics seized in mass kidnap  —  Five senior Iraqi police officers were arrested last night after gunmen in police uniforms seized scores of people at a prominent scientific research institute in Baghdad in an audacious operation that underlined the lawlessness gripping …

`Landslide Joe?'  —  Courtney Lands Capitol Nickname In Razor-Thin 2nd District Recount  —  The studious Democratic lawyer from Vernon appears to have clinched a win in the 2nd Congressional District.  —  And it took only 168 hours and 49 minutes after the polls closed on election night to receive the news.

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.

Document shows Bush guided CIA on detention  —  WASHINGTON: The Central Intelligence Agency has acknowledged for the first time the existence of two classified documents, including one signed by President George W. Bush, that have guided the agency's interrogation and detention of terror suspects.

FOX NEWS INTERNAL MEMO: "BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR ANY STATEMENTS FROM THE IRAQI INSURGENTS...THRILLED AT THE PROSPECT OF A DEM CONTROLLED CONGRESS"...  Huffington Post has obtained an internal Fox News memo written by the network's Vice President of news.  The memo details Fox's game plan …

Pawlenty: Give health coverage to all kids  —  The GOP governor embraces an issue that was central for DFLers in the recent campaign.  —  In a sweeping policy departure that aligns with a top agenda item of the newly elected DFL legislative majorities, Gov. Tim Pawlenty called Tuesday …

As Guard Changes in Congress, Lobbyists Scramble  —  Republicans do not cede control of Congress for nearly two months, but money, power and influence are already beginning to change hands.  The political economy, at least here in the capital, is humming for Democrats.

freed for $2 million  —  Terrorists used cash for arms to 'hit Zionists,' payment said to encourage more abductions  —  JERUSALEM - Palestinian terror groups and security organizations in the Gaza Strip received $2 million from a United States source in exchange for the release …

THE CASTAGANA CORRESPONDENCE: RIGHT WHAT YOU KNOW  —  Surprise!  Nancy Pelosi's powder pal doesn't just think Katherine Harris is a "remarkable lady"—as we reported after perusing what appear to be his Free Republic posts—he puts his money where his mouth is.

Enter, Pariah: Now It's Hugs for Lieberman  —  Senator Joseph I. Lieberman strode into a Democratic caucus gathering like he owned the place or, at the very least, like someone who is a flight risk and could leave at any minute, taking the Democrats' new majority with him.

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."