Shooting victim, 92, shot officers five times  —  One cop hit three times; all released from hospital  —  Atlanta police say undercover officers bought drugs from a man inside the home of a 92-year-old woman hours before she was killed in a gunbattle that left three officers wounded.

So Close, so Far  —  No, no, no....  The problems in Iraq, in the radical Middle East at large—with democratization, with nuclearization, with Islamism—are not, repeat not, a lack of dialogue with Syria and Iran.  —  We know what both rogue states wish and it is our exit from the Middle East …

Alcee Hastings scandal proves H. Paul Rico a gifted gangster  —  Memo to the national news media: Please, in all future stories about Rep. Alcee Hastings, stop referring to "the FBI agent" who set him up in a bribery sting when Hastings was a federal judge.  —  The guy who brought down Hastings wasn't just an FBI agent, you know.

What American journalists should be thankful for  —  In between breathless condemnations of the Bush administration for stifling its free speech, endless court filings demanding classified and sensitive information from the military and intelligence agencies, and self-pitying media industry confabs bemoaning …

A New D.C. Paper Poaches, Encroaches Cross-Platforms  —  Allbritton Communications, which owns seven ABC affiliates, including WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., now wants to own a newspaper.  —  A newspaper?  Didn't everyone write those old, unprofitable things off?

France authorizes troops to fire at IAF jets over Lebanon  —  French soldiers in Lebanon who feel threatened by aggressive Israeli overflights are permitted to shoot at IAF fighter jets, a high-ranking French military officer told The Jerusalem Post.  —  Wednesday, several days after meeting …

Rainier Valley barber shop owner flees U.S.  —  Facing sentencing in plea deal, he phones FBI to say he's in Somalia  —  Ruben Shumpert, who federal agents allege made his Rainier Valley barber shop a kind of "anti-American training ground for Muslims" where children were taught …

President Bush Pardons "Flyer and Fryer" in National Thanksgiving Turkey Ceremony  —  Thanksgiving Day, 2006 Proclamation  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.  Thanks for coming.  (Applause.)  Welcome to the Rose Garden.  I appreciate being up here with Mike Briggs and Alice Johnson …

Cameron told: it's time to ditch Churchill  —  Polly Toynbee, not Winston, should set Tory social agenda, says adviser  —  One of David Cameron's key policy advisers will urge the party today to abandon its Churchillian and "out of date" ideas about the welfare state, the Guardian has learned.

What Can I Do to Make Your Flight More Uncomfortable?  —  Six imams removed from a US Airways flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix are calling on Muslims to boycott the airline.  If only we could get Muslims to boycott all airlines, we could dispense with airport security altogether.

Dutch Voters Favor Prime Minister's Christian Democrats  —  Extremists Also Gain Power in Parliament  —  Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's right-of-center Christian Democratic Appeal party, which has led efforts to curtail Muslim immigration at a time of growing xenophobia in the Netherlands …

The World According to Jimmy Carter  —  I like Jimmy Carter.  I have known him since he began his run for president in early 1976.  I worked hard for his election, and I have admired the work of the Carter Center throughout the world.  That's why it troubles me so much that this decent man …

Ten things to be thankful for this time of year  —  From freedom's march abroad to brave US soldiers, there is much to appreciate.  —  SALT LAKE CITY - For years now, I've made it a practice in this column at Thanksgiving time to list some of the things for which Americans should be grateful.

More than 140 bodies turn up on Baghdad streets  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — More than 140 bodies have been found dumped across Baghdad over the past three days, police said Wednesday.  —  Police said 52 bullet-riddled bodies were found Wednesday, with 20 of them blindfolded, tied up and possibly tortured.