CNN Political Ticker AM  —  For the latest, breaking political news, check for updates throughout the day on the CNN Political Ticker.  All politics, all the time.  —  Compiled by Stephen Bach  —  Making news today...  - House Dems meet to elect leaders by secret ballot this morning …

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 …

Whither The GOP?  —  After the midterm elections, many of us hoped that the Republican Party would return to conservative First Principles in an attempt to recapture the energy that propelled them to majority status in 1994.  Refocusing on the bedrock principles of limited government …

Sectarian Strife in Iraq Imperils Entire Region, Analysts Warn  —  BAGHDAD — While American commanders have suggested that civil war is possible in Iraq, many leaders, experts and ordinary people in Baghdad and around the Middle East say it is already underway, and that the real worry ahead …

Airport Arrest Turns Up Nuclear Info  —  A man was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after officials say they found him carrying more than $78,000 in cash and a laptop computer containing information about nuclear materials and cyanide.  —  Sisayehiticha Dinssa, an unemployed U.S. citizen …

O.J. Simpson, Fox, Regan Books And The Decline Of Standards  —  DEAR TMV: I am 10 years old.  I was talking with my friends and they said corporate standards and the corporate conscience in America are disintegrating.  —  My father says, "If you see a Starbucks on every corner it isn't so."

Less polar bear cubs surviving in Alaska  —  ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Far fewer polar bears cubs are surviving off Alaska's northern coast, a federal government report released Wednesday has concluded.  —  The study of polar bears in the south Beaufort Sea, which spans the northern coasts …

Flush of Victory Past, Democrats Revert to Finger-Pointing  —  One would think that after their biggest electoral triumph in about a decade, Democrats would finally break their usual postelection syndrome — a November loss followed by recriminations, finger-pointing and infighting.  —  Well, think again.

Some Americans Lack Food, but USDA Won't Call Them Hungry  —  The U.S. government has vowed that Americans will never be hungry again.  But they may experience "very low food security."  —  Every year, the Agriculture Department issues a report that measures Americans' access to food …

TERROR-FRIENDLY GOP LEADER?  —  WILL appeasing terrorists be the new House Republican strategy?  —  Several respected Republicans must think so, since they've endorsed Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to become the new Republican Policy Committee Chairman.  The other candidate is Rep. Thaddeus McCotter …

Bush to Put Nominations Back on Table  —  White House officials said Wednesday that President Bush would renominate six of his earlier choices to sit on the federal appeals court, leaving Democratic senators and other analysts to ponder what message he is sending.

Romney hires ex-Bush ad man  —  Producer noted for tough tactics  —  Governor Mitt Romney, who continues to sign up big-name political consultants for a probable presidential run, has hired bare-knuckles GOP ad man Alex Castellanos, a veteran of presidential campaigns known for his tough ads against Democratic candidates.

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 …