'We Can't Afford to Leave'  —  As the debate over Iraq intensifies, leading Democrat Silvestre Reyes is calling for the deployment of more U.S. troops.  —  Dec. 5.  2006 - In a surprise twist in the debate over Iraq, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, the soon-to-be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee …

Senate committee approves Gates nomination … WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously approved President Bush's defense secretary nomination Tuesday and sent it to the full Senate for approval, the committee's outgoing chairman said.

2008: If Obama runs, he wins  —  Standard caveats aside (it's early, we don't have a set field, blah blah blah), it's hard to see how Barack Obama loses the nomination barring scandal or the mother-of-all gaffes.  —  I've been working up a few scenarios given the primary calendar …

Praising son Jeb, former President Bush breaks down  —  TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush broke down in tears as he cited his son, Gov. Jeb Bush, as an example of leadership.  —  Bush was addressing lawmakers, his son's top administrators, and state workers gathered …

The 2006 Weblog Awards Finalists Announced  —  Below are the finalists in The 2006 Weblog Awards, presented in both category and alphabetical order.  Finalist badges are available now and voting is scheduled to begin Thursday.  —  Cateogory Listing of The 2006 Weblog Awards Finalists:  —  Best Blog

Russia will not extradite Litvinenko suspects  —  Staff and agencies  —  The Russian prosecutor general today said the country would not extradite suspects in the Alexander Litvinenko case to Britain.  —  Yuri Chaika also insisted that polonium 210, the radioactive element with which the former spy …

Flatulence, not turbulence forces plane landing in Nashville  —  Flatulence brought 99 passengers on an American Airlines flight to an unscheduled visit to Nashville early Monday morning.  —  American Flight 1053, from Washington Reagan National Airport and bound for Dallas/Fort Worth …

Affirmative Inaction  —  ANTHONY KENNEDY IS SORT OF HORRIFIED BY VOLUNTARY SCHOOL DESEGREGATION.  —  Listen to the MP3 audio version of this story here, or sign up for Slate's free daily podcast on iTunes.  —  The two cases heard at the Supreme Court today, Parents Involved …

Build It Up  —  "[We have] leaks and even the occasional icicle from my computer lab ceiling, asbestos coming up off the floor, the exterior walls are crumbling.  We feel forgotten ...." —a Minnesota technology coordinator  —  "Our school has been built on a former landfill. …

Questioning a NYTimes reporter; challenging CBS News & ASNE  —  The Associated Press controversy over its six burning Sunnis story is not just about AP.  It's a burning credibility crisis that stretches from Pallywood to the Fauxtography scandal and beyond.

Mary Cheney and Partner Are About to Be Moms  —  Mary Cheney, the vice president's openly gay daughter, is pregnant.  She and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, are "ecstatic" about the baby, due in late spring, said a source close to the couple.  —  It's a baby boom for grandparents Dick …

SOLVING THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS....I've been waiting impatiently for Instapundit's promised "symposium" on Iraq, an ambitious attempt to see if the blogosphere can come up with better ideas than all those tired mainstream analysts.  As it turns out, response was so overwhelming that we'll be getting multiple installments.

American Among Terror Plotters in Egypt  —  *Bumped* because I don't think this is getting enough press.  An American.  Arrested in Egypt.  Part of an international cell of jihadis.  For, at the very least, encouraging people to go to Iraq and fight Americans.  That.  Is.  TREASON.

NYC Health Board Votes to Ban Trans Fats  —  The Board of Health voted Tuesday to make New York the nation's first city to ban artery-clogging artificial trans fats at restaurants - from the corner pizzeria to high-end bakeries.  —  The board, which passed the ban unanimously …