Bucking White House, NBC says Iraq in 'civil war'  —  Usage increasing in news media  —  WASHINGTON — NBC's "Today Show" host Matt Lauer yesterday told millions of American television viewers, many sitting at their breakfast tables, that the network would buck the White House and from now on describe the Iraq war as a "civil war."

PELOSI-HASTINGS MEETING COULD SIGNAL END OF CHAIRMANSHIP BID  —  WASHINGTON — House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi will meet Tuesday with Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings, and those with knowledge of Pelosi's thinking told FOX News that Hastings will be told he is not going to be the next chairman …

Bush Blames Al Qaeda for Wave of Iraq Violence  —  President Bush today said Al Qaeda was to blame for the rising wave of sectarian violence in Iraq, which he refused to label a civil war.  Mr. Bush said he would press Iraq's prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, during meetings in Jordan later …

Congressman calls Miami a `Third World country'  —  WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo, the leader of the anti-illegal immigration faction in the U.S. House, spent a recent weekend at The Breakers in Palm Beach.  —  Ninety miles to the south, he found a symbol to bolster his belief …

Centrism  —  Just adding on to Ezra, I have hostility to the concept of "centrism" for a variety of reasons.  First, except on a few mostly social issues there really isn't all that much which can be neatly fit into a left-center-right-axis.  Mostly centrism is used be elite opinionmakers …

AP, U.S. military spar over atrocities report  —  The Associated Press is standing by its report that six Sunni men were burned to death in Baghdad Friday by Shiites, even though U.S. military officials have accused the wire service of relying on a source who "is not who he claimed he was," an Iraqi police captain.

Cintas warned against firing immigrant force  —  A Mississippi Democrat in line to become chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee has warned the nation's largest uniform supplier it faces criminal charges if it follows a White House proposal to recheck workers with mismatched Social Security numbers …

Iran tells Talabani that US-led forces must leave Iraq  —  Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei told visiting Iraqi President Jalal Talabani that US-led forces had to leave Iraq if security was to be restored in the violence-riven country.  —  "The first step to solve the security issue in Iraq …

Court Clears Way for Prosecutor to Review Records in Times Case  —  The United States Supreme Court refused yesterday to stop a federal prosecutor from reviewing the telephone records of two reporters for The New York Times.  The records, the newspaper said, include information about many of the reporters' confidential sources.

America, Not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on  —  Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.

Dial Joe-4-Chávez  —  Massachusetts Democrats love Venezuela's strongman.  —  Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez is an ally of the Iranian mullahs, a supporter of North Korea, a close friend of Fidel Castro and a good customer for Vladimir Putin's weapon factories.

French police the target in urban guerrilla war  —  PARIS (Reuters) - Stoned, beaten and insulted, their vehicles torched by crowds of hostile youths, French police say they face an urban guerrilla war when they enter the run-down neighborhoods that ring the major cities.

Pope Rage in Istanbul  —  Pope Benedict XVI is set to arrive in Turkey on Tuesday, and tensions are running high.  Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, wrote to Benedict: "Your life is in danger.  You absolutely must not come to Turkey."

Bush Approval Ratings Slip  —  President Bush's approval ratings fell to the second-lowest of his presidency, according to a new Harris Interactive poll.  —  According to the telephone poll, conducted between Nov. 17 and Nov. 21, 31% of U.S. adults called Mr. Bush's job performance "excellent" …

Video: Carter blames Israel for failure of roadmap, denies he's anti-Israel; Update: Carter says Shalit kidnapping "probably" a mistake  —  As usual when the sage of Plains turns up on TV, it's an embarrassment of outraged riches.  Here you'll find him bestowing the Carter seal of approval …

Oversight board briefed on NSA spy program  —  WASHINGTON - Several members of a government board appointed to guard privacy and civil liberties during the war on terror say they're impressed with the protections built into the Bush administration's electronic eavesdropping program.

Castro's 80th birthday bash kicks off without him  —  HAVANA (Reuters) - Fidel Castro's 80th birthday celebration kicked off on Tuesday with the ailing Cuban leader nowhere in sight but hundreds of admirers from around the world were on hand to pay homage.  —  The opening of an art exhibit …

Cheerleading for the Terrorists  —  The media, in all of its glory, wholeheartedly participating in the celebration of a new weapon designed to kill Jews:  —  More details will follow shortly, as soon as I have the time.  I hope to track down the news articles attached to this event …

Democrats win control of Pa. House after 12 years in minority  —  WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Democrats won control of the state House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years Tuesday as Chester County officials settled a pair of hotly contested House races three weeks after the election.