Islamic Fighters Quitting Somalia Front  —  MOGADISHU, Somalia — Islamic fighters attempting to wrest power from Somalia's internationally recognized government retreated from the main front line early Tuesday, witnesses said, a day after Ethiopian fighter jets bombed the country's two main international airports.

A Delusional System of Justice  —  Since this is my last column of 2006, tradition and custom obligate me to choose a person of the year.  This practice was started by the late Henry Luce, who realized that choosing a man of the year would call as much attention to his Time magazine as it would to the person himself.

U.S. toll in Iraq surpasses that of 9/11  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - At least 36 Iraqis died Tuesday in bombings, officials said, including a coordinated strike that killed 25 in western Baghdad.  Separately, the deaths of six U.S. soldiers pushed the American toll beyond the number of victims in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Courts Side With NSA On Wiretaps  —  Defense lawyers who had hoped that the public disclosure a year ago of the National Security Agency's wiretapping program would yield information favorable to their clients are being rebuffed by the federal judiciary, which in a series of unusually consistent rulings …

Justice Dept. Database Stirs Privacy Fears  —  Size and Scope of the Interagency Investigative Tool Worry Civil Libertarians  —  The Justice Department is building a massive database that allows state and local police officers around the country to search millions of case files from the FBI …

Veil liberates me, says alternative Christmas message woman  —  A veil-wearing Muslim convert today claimed the way she chooses to dress makes her feel "liberated" as she delivered an alternative Christmas message.  —  Khadija, the great-granddaughter of a suffragette …

U.S. arrest of Iranians reportedly upsets Iraqi president … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqi and Iranian authorities slammed the United States on Monday for having arrested several Iranians who were visiting Iraq.  —  A U.S. official said the Iranians were suspected of involvement in attacks against Iraqi security forces.

The Kwanzaa Fraud  —  Ah...the holidays.  Great time of the year isn't it?  —  But about this time of the year, every year, I glance at a calender and see that the official start of Kwanzaa is starting tomorrow and I have to shake my head.  Why?  Well because Kwanzaa is a fraud …

Qassam hits strategic facility in Ashkelon  —  Agreed upon truce breached once again as Palestinians in northern Gaza fire three rockets toward Negev area; one strikes strategic facility in Ashkelon, damage done to structures  —  Latest Update:  —  Palestinian gunmen launched Monday …

Pork No Longer Paves the Road to Re-election  —  PLEASANTON, Calif. — Until this year, Richard W. Pombo, the seven-term Republican congressman from the Central Valley, had never caused much fanfare about bringing home earmarks, the special local projects that circumvent the normal budgeting process.

Interior, Pentagon Faulted In Audits  —  Effort to Speed Defense Contracts Wasted Millions  —  The Defense Department paid two procurement operations at the Department of the Interior to arrange for Pentagon purchases totaling $1.7 billion that resulted in excessive fees and tens of millions of dollars in waste, documents show.