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 …

`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.

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 …

Lamar Alexander For Minority Whip  —  Captain's Quarters has no hesitation in endorsing Lamar Alexander for the position of Minority Whip in the next session of the Senate.  While I have regard for Senator Alexander, this decision has far more to do with his competition than with the Tennessean himself.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Mid-flight sexual play lands US couple afoul of anti-terrorism law  —  A couple's ill-concealed sexual play aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles got them charged with violating the Patriot Act, intended for terrorist acts, and could land them in jail for 20 years.

House GOP may go back to the future  —  Former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) is gone, Democrats will soon control the floor and House speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) will be just another member of the minority — if a member at all.  —  As much as last week's momentous loss ushered in a new era …

ARABIAN NIGHTMARES  —  YESTERDAY, 80 terrorists in police uniforms raided an Iraqi research institute in Baghdad, rounded up 100-plus male students, loaded them into vehicles in broad daylight and drove away.  —  They couldn't have pulled it off without the complicity of key elements within …

Al Jazeera's U.S. Face  —  Former ABC Newsman Dave Marash Is Getting Used to Explaining His Job  —  The moment Dave Marash told friends and colleagues about his new job, the questions began flying.  —  Who? listeners asked skeptically.  And why?  —  Nearly nine months later …