Hoyer tapped for party's No. 2 House spot  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats on Thursday chose Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer to be House majority leader over Rep. John Murtha, brushing aside the choice of House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi.  —  Hoyer was elected on a vote of 149-86 not long …

Milton Friedman, a Leading Economist, Dies at 94  —  Milton Friedman, the grandmaster of conservative economic theory in the postwar era and a prime force in the movement of nations toward lesser government and greater reliance on free markets and individual responsibility, died today at He was 94 years old.

[BREAKING NEWS]: Student shot with Taser by UCPD officers  —  Incident occured around 11:30 p.m. in the Powell Library CLICC computer lab  —  UCPD officers shot a student several times with a Taser inside the Powell Library CLICC computer lab late Tuesday night before taking him into custody.

Putnam Wants To Know: Where Were The Rednecks?  —  "White rednecks" who "didn't show up to vote for us" partly cost GOPers their cong. majorities, Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL) told fellow Republicans today.  And Putnam, seeking the post of GOP conference chair, chided ex-Chair J.C. Watts (R-OK) …

CNN's Beck to first-ever Muslim congressman: "[W]hat I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies' "  —  On the November 14 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck interviewed Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), who became the first Muslim ever elected …

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 …

Breaking: Bush appoints abstinence-only nut to oversee repro rights funding  —  Hold on to your hats.  I hear from a little birdie that the Bush administration has hired Dr. Eric Keroack to oversee Title X funding—the only federal program devoted entirely to family planning and reproductive health.

Grading the Pollsters  —  Political polling has come a long way since "Dewey Defeats Truman."  —  Pollsters earned high marks in last week's elections: Surveys correctly predicted that the Democrats would win control of the House of Representatives, that the Senate would be closely contested …

Lowry falsely claimed poll shows most Americans support sending more troops to Iraq … In his November 14 National Review Online column, "Be Careful What You Believe," National Review editor Rich Lowry falsely claimed that a "late-October New York Times poll found that 55 percent of the public favors sending more troops to Iraq."

Schumer, the victor, wins new leadership position  —  Senate Democrats rewarded Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) yesterday for his success as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) by giving him a specially created leadership position.  —  In return for the new title …

Nevada town to fine for foreign flags  —  The Nevada town of Pahrump is taking a stand not just against illegal immigrants but flags they may bring with them.  —  The elected town board in the remote Mojave Desert community voted 3-2 on Tuesday to enact an ordinance making it illegal to fly a foreign nation's flag by itself.

Unleash the Shiites?  —  The U.S. may be forced to choose sides in Iraq's civil strife.  —  AS SECTARIAN violence rises in Iraq and the White House comes under increasing pressure to revamp its strategy there, a debate is emerging inside the Bush administration: Should the U.S. abandon …