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 Proclaims Support for Iraqi Premier  —  President Bush today proclaimed Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki "the right guy for Iraq," and said the two had agreed to speed the turnover of security responsibility from American to Iraqi forces.  But Mr. Bush dismissed a reported decision …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Benchwarming  —  THE SUPREME COURT MELTS DOWN OVER GREENHOUSE GASSES.  —  If there is anything stranger than writing up your story on global warming in a T-shirt ... in late November ... in the District of Columbia, I can't quite think what it is.  In fact nothing about this morning's oral argument …

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.

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

After newspaper report, Falwell says he hasn't endorsed Romney  —  MIAMI — Governor Mitt Romney, who has assiduously courted evangelical Christians in preparation for a probable 2008 presidential campaign, was thrust into an awkward position yesterday after a Mississippi newspaper reported …

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.