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.

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) …

[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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.