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 …

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.

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.

Who Gives and Who Doesn't?  —  Putting the Stereotypes to the Test  —  There are a million ways to give to charity.  Toy drives, food drives, school supply drives...telethons, walkathons, and dance-athons.  —  But just who is doing the giving?  Three quarters of American families donate to charity, giving $1,800 each, on average.

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.