Islamic forces on the retreat in Somalia  —  MOGADISHU, Somalia - Islamic fighters were in a tactical retreat Tuesday, a senior Islamic leader said, as government and Ethiopian troops advanced on three fronts in a decisive turn around in the battle for control of Somalia.

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.

St. Louis judge's outspoken book causing controversy  —  A liberal-bashing book by a veteran St. Louis judge is to become available publicly this week, but it is already causing a stir in political and legal circles — and prompting some to say it could cost him his job.

Democrats Pledge to Restrain Spending  —  Critics Say Party's Goals Are Too Lofty  —  Determined to banish their old tax-and-spend image, Democrats want to shrink the federal deficit, preserve tax cuts for the middle class and challenge the president to raise money for the Iraq war when they take control of Congress next week.

Flash!  President Bush Says He Reads Papers  —  Is there hope for newspapers after all?  Readers may be abandoning the printed versions, but over the last couple of years, at least one person seems to have started reading them, at least sometimes.  He lives in the White House.

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 …

Going universal  —  The American healthcare system is, simply put, a mess, but we may finally be ready to fix it.  —  THE STATISTICS, by now, are well known.  Forty-seven million uninsured Americans.  Premium increases of 81% since 2000.  Small businesses failing, big businesses foundering …

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 …

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.

Bipartisan Effort to Draft Immigration Bill  —  Counting on the support of the new Democratic majority in Congress, Democratic lawmakers and their Republican allies are working on measures that could place millions of illegal immigrants on a more direct path to citizenship than would a bill that the Senate passed in the spring.

James Brown, the 'Godfather of Soul,' Dies at 73  —  James Brown, the singer, songwriter, bandleader and dancer who indelibly transformed 20th-century music, died early yesterday in Atlanta.  He was 73 and lived in Beech Island, S.C., across the Savannah River from Augusta, Ga.