S. Dakota's Sen. Johnson has possible stroke  —  Takes ill in Capitol Hill office, hospitalized for evaluation  —  NEW YORK - Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S. D., has been hospitalized with symptoms described as stroke-like.  The seriousness of his illness has not been disclosed.

Army, Marine Corps To Ask for More Troops  —  The Army and Marine Corps are planning to ask incoming Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Congress to approve permanent increases in personnel, as senior officials in both services assert that the nation's global military strategy has outstripped their resources.

U.S. Raids 6 Meat Plants in ID Case  —  In simultaneous dawn raids, federal immigration agents swept into six Swift & Company meatpacking plants in six states yesterday, rounding up hundreds of immigrant workers in what the agents described as a vast criminal investigation of identity theft.

Point of personal privilege  —  (CNN) — "Humor is the nitroglycerin of politics," a political analyst wrote long ago.  "Very powerful, but if it's not handled carefully, it can explode in your face."  —  Actually, I wrote those words in a widely un-read book.

Move to bring genocide case against Ahmadinejad as Iran president repeats call to wipe out Israel  —  Robert Tait in Tehran, Ed Pilkington in New York  —  The outgoing US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, is backing a call for the president of Iran to be charged with inciting genocide …

How Academe Shortchanges Conservative Thinking  —  Notwithstanding the outcome of the recent election, in one respect, the last few decades mark a breakthrough era for conservative intellectuals.  Their visibility has soared.  Thirty years ago, the only place to find conservatives on television …

Senator wants universal health care plan  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A dozen years after Congress rejected a Clinton administration plan for universal health care, an Oregon Democrat is readying a proposal to provide health care coverage to all Americans through a pool of private insurance plans.

More Journalists Join Political News Venture  —  Mike Allen, a reporter who covers the White House for Time magazine, and Roger Simon, the chief political correspondent for Bloomberg News, are joining the new multimedia political news venture being overseen by two former Washington Post journalists.

Byrd to give up W.Va. projects  —  Byrd, incoming chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and his House counterpart Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin outlined their plan late Monday to pass a yearlong stopgap spending bill to keep government programs and agencies functioning until Sept. 30, 2007.

Lobbying the Jury  —  We are disappointed that the Supreme Court has upheld a defendant's conviction even though spectators at his trial put prejudicial material in sight of the jury.  Fortunately, the court made clear that its ruling this week was based only on the unusual way the issue was raised …

The Foley Fallout  —  Soon-to-be-speaker Nancy Pelosi is fond of mentioning that she's the mother of five, grandmother of six.  The California Democrat should keep that in mind as she reviews the House ethics committee's report on former representative Mark Foley and considers proposals for tougher ethics enforcement.

'Convert or die' game divides Christians  —  Some ask Wal-Mart to drop Left Behind  —  Liberal and progressive Christian groups say a new computer game in which players must either convert or kill non-Christians is the wrong gift to give this holiday season and that Wal-Mart …

The Power of the Press  —  The media is in need of some mending.  —  Thomas Jefferson, a better president than we've had in a very long time, penned a line back in 1787: "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government …

Beyond Baker-Hamilton  —  One Approach to a Last Try at Stability in Iraq  —  A collapse of the Iraqi state would be catastrophic — for the people of Iraq, for the Middle East and for America's strategic interests.  We need a new political and military approach to head off this impending disaster …

FEC COLLECTS $630,000 IN CIVIL PENALTIES FROM THREE 527 ORGANIZATIONS  —  WASHINGTON - The Federal Election Commission announced today that it has reached settlements with three 527 organizations accused of violating the federal campaign finance laws during the 2004 presidential election.