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CNN:
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 …
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Associated Press
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Washington Post:
Pelosi Splits Democrats With Push For Murtha — Speaker-to-Be Accused Of Strong-Arm Tactics — A showdown over the House majority leader's post today has Democrats bitterly divided only a week after their party took control of Congress and has prompted numerous complaints …
Los Angeles Times:
Democratic leadership hopefuls marked by ethical questions — The two candidates for House majority leader know how to leverage their connections. — WASHINGTON — Though incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promises to push through ethical reforms in Congress, both of the Democrats vying …
jules crittenden:
Murtha vs. Hoyer: Sit Back and Enjoy ... Today offers the kind of spectacle that is a small consolation prize for a party out of power: the victors pummeling each other over the spoils. The election having been lost, today's majority leadership race is a win-win.
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Many Say Leadership Race Damages Democrats' Image — House members acknowledged on Wednesday that the increasingly bitter contest for majority leader was sullying the image of unity and new direction that Democrats hoped to convey. — "It's four days that we haven't talked about our message …
Simon Tisdall / Guardian:
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 …
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New York Times:
General Warns of Risks in Iraq if G.I.'s Are Cut — The top American military commander for the Middle East said Wednesday that to begin a significant troop withdrawal from Iraq over the next six months would lead to an increase in sectarian killings and hamper efforts to persuade …
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Ellen Knickmeyer / Washington Post:
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 …
Laura Rozen / Los Angeles Times:
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 …
PR Newswire:
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 …
Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
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.
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Dan Joling / Associated Press:
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 …
Elizabeth Williamson / Washington Post:
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 …
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CBS News
Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:
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.
Scott Helman / Boston Globe:
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.
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AMERICAblog
Debbie Schlussel / New York Post:
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 …
Carl Bialik / Wall Street Journal:
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 …
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Taegan Goddard's …