Al Qaeda Sends a Message to Democrats  —  Brian Ross and Hoda Osman Report:  —  Al Qaeda has sent a message to leaders of the Democratic party that credit for the defeat of congressional Republicans belongs to the terrorists.  —  In a portion of the tape from al Qaeda No. 2 man …

Charges of Rape Against 3 at Duke Are Abandoned  —  The Durham district attorney dropped rape charges against three former Duke lacrosse players on Friday, but he said he would continue to pursue kidnapping and sexual offense charges that carry equally stiff sentences.

Carter's about-face betrays Jews, Christians  —  We are in that season when Jews celebrate one of their few successful rebellions against oppression.  Christians celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace.  How ironic, then, that Jewish-Americans are embroiled in a grim struggle …

Pelosi Aims To Recast Self, Party  —  On a scale associated with presidential inaugurations, Nancy Pelosi is planning four days of celebration surrounding her Jan. 4 swearing-in as the first female speaker of the House.  She will return to the blue-collar Baltimore neighborhood where she grew up …

The myth of the big bad drug companies  —  They're not greedy, they're over-regulated.  The result is fewer pills to cure our ills.  —  THE PHARMACEUTICAL industry is getting bad press.  Recent books by Marcia Angell, the former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, and Jerome Kassirer …

Bickering Saudis Struggle for an Answer to Iran's Rising Influence in the Middle East  —  At a late-night reading this week, a self-styled poet raised his hand for silence and began a riff on neighboring Iraq, in the old style of Bedouin storytellers.  —  "Saddam Hussein was a real leader …

Hispanic groups call for moratorium on work raids  —  SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. Hispanic groups and activists on Thursday called for a moratorium on workplace raids to round up illegal immigrants, saying they were reminiscent of Nazi crackdowns on Jews in the 1930s.

Spending freeze targets pet projects for members of Congress  —  WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders in the new Congress plan to strip funding for thousands of pet projects for individual members, a big display of fiscal discipline they say will help cut deficits and curb spending abuses.

"Media Matters"; by Jamison Foser  —  Cat videos — unlike NBC News — don't impart conservative misinformation  —  Time magazine's selection of "You" as its "Person of the Year" has — justifiably — drawn criticism.  —  Writing for CJR Daily, for example, Christian Vachon argued …

Ellison: Lawmaker has 'a lot to learn about Islam' … WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Virginia lawmaker criticized for writing an "Islamophobic" letter to his constituents would be wise to learn more about Islam, the first Muslim elected to Congress said Thursday.  —  Minnesota Rep.-elect Keith …

News of a Sleighing  —  This just in: Santa Claus is coming to town.  —  Sunday is Christmas Eve.  It feels wrong to speak here of small and sentimental things such as politics.  The most passionately committed Americans right now, and the most imaginative, are children waiting for a large laughing man with a full white beard.

Rice: Iraq 'worth the investment'  —  U.S. is ready to elect black president, secretary of state says  —  WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told The Associated Press on Thursday that Iraq is "worth the investment" in American lives and dollars and said the U.S. can still win …

Iraqi Factions Try to Undercut a Plan to Isolate Extremists  —  Several Iraqi political groups on Thursday maneuvered to undercut an American-backed initiative that would create a multisectarian bloc intended to isolate extremists like the Shiite cleric and militia leader Moktada al-Sadr.

Pundits lose grip on reality when dealing with the Internet  —  What is it about the Internet that makes some political pundits, columnists and reporters so goofy?  It seems like almost every time I read a mainstream media story about political Web sites and bloggers, the pieces are full of ill-informed junk.

'NYT' Sunday Preview: Sen. Jim Webb Says Story on Rift With Bush 'Emanated from the White House'  —  NEW YORK In an interview with Deborah Solomon that will appear in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine, the newly-elected U.S. senator from Virginia, Jim Webb, discusses his recent widely-publicized exchange …