Rumors and reporting in Iraq  —  ***scroll for updates...NYTimes blogger Tom Zeller Jr weighs in...plus: bloggers note the significance of the capture of Mazer Al-Jubouri, aka the Baghdad Sniper, and his group...***  —  I've been following up with CENTCOM on the Associated Press/sketchy sources brouhaha.

Bush: Calls for Troop Drawdowns Unrealistic  —  At Summit, President Stands by Iraqi Prime Minister, Discusses Speeding Up Security Handover  —  President Bush delivered a staunch endorsement of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Thursday morning and dismissed calls for U.S. troop withdrawals …

EXCLUSIVE: Iranian Weapons Arm Iraqi Militia  —  Hezbollah Training Also Linked to Iraq Violence  —  U.S. officials say they have found smoking-gun evidence of Iranian support for terrorists in Iraq: brand-new weapons fresh from Iranian factories.  According to a senior defense official …

George Will Distorts WaPo's Own Reporting To Smear Jim Webb  —  This has to be one of the rankest displays of journalistic dishonesty I've seen in some time on the part of any columnist, large or small.  —  In today's Washington Post column, George Will assails Dem Senator-elect Jim Webb …

Spy Radiation Fears Grow  —  Traces of radiation have been detected at 12 locations during a probe into the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.  —  Home Secretary John Reid said 24 unnamed locations have been or are currently being monitored by experts.

Democrats Reject Key 9/11 Panel Suggestion  —  Neither Party Has an Appetite for Overhauling Congressional Oversight of Intelligence  —  It was a solemn pledge, repeated by Democratic leaders and candidates over and over: If elected to the majority in Congress, Democrats would implement …

Justices' First Brush With Global Warming  —  A Supreme Court argument Wednesday on the Bush administration's refusal to regulate carbon dioxide in automobile emissions offered three intertwined plot lines to the audience that had come to watch the court's first encounter with the issue of global climate change.

FEMA Told to Resume Storm Aid  —  Judge's Ruling May Affect Thousands On the Gulf Coast  —  The Bush administration unconstitutionally denied aid to tens of thousands of Gulf Coast residents displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and must resume payments immediately, a federal judge ordered yesterday.

Between The Lines  —  Iran: While Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tries to woo "Noble Americans," a smuggled video shows how truth and justice actually fare in his country.  —  The Iranian president is back to writing letters, this time a five-page missive directly to the American people.

Conservative Students to Display "ACLU Nativity Scene"  —  Contact: Kevin Potter, Director of Communications - 469.231.4327  —  Conservative Students to Display "ACLU Nativity Scene"  —  Young Conservatives of Texas at UT Austin  —  Contact: Tony McDonald, Chairman 512.923.6893

COVER UP  —  How New York's buildings are disappearing beneath a blanket of never-ending scaffolds and backroom deals  —  For many residents of the oft-termed New New York, the post-9/11 building boom represents prosperity, regeneration and renewed vitality.