The Announcement  —  Yesterday, John Edwards spent the day shoveling, flattening, and recreating Orelia Tyler's yard.  Today, outside that same yard, at 8:03 in the morning, he announced for president.  The speech was more casual than most in the announcement genre, at least in my experience.

Declassified State Department Document: Arafat Responsible for Storming of Embassy and Murder of Americans in 1973  —  The State Department has finally admitted (document has just been declassified) that Arafat was behind the 1973 murder of two Americans in Sudan by the Black September terrorist group.

Profile in Decency  —  We were fortunate in 1974, a time of crisis, to have the right person in the right place at the right time.  When the country needed healing, reconciliation and restoration of confidence, Gerald Ford provided it.  —  He was a principled partisan …

Last lunch with a legend  —  Speaks candidly about the WMDs and war in Iraq  —  DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF … RANCHO MIRAGE, Cal. - Jerry Ford was a politician of rare amiability, but this day he was hopping mad.  —  "They won't let me go in the pool and swim," …

More Right-Wing Blog Fun with Iraq War E-mails  —  If wishes were e-mails, the Iraq war would be won.  And John Kerry would be friendless.  —  Yesterday we learned via the National Review Online that, at least according to year-old spam, ground troops think the United States is winning the war in Iraq.

Iran's Oil Woes  —  A hot topic of late is the terrible condition of Iran's oil infrastructure and the risk of plummeting exports:  —  c. 500 BC … This, of course, will mean different things to different folks.  On the one hand, you have those that will claim the study's findings mean …

Ethiopians Blitz Their Way Across the Country  —  Ethiopian troops have stood aside so that Somali gunmen representing the Transitional Government can enter Mogadishu.  The surviving Islamic Courts fighters have fled south, from whence they came.  This does not solve the basic problem …

CNN On Demand markets sniper video  —  Go to The Return of the Conservatives blog for the story of how TimeWarner Cable's CNN on Demand is marketing the Iraqi sniper video of terrorists targeting American troops.  Notice the category of the video?  "Family."  —  But, you know, don't question their patriotism.

G.O.P. Senator in Spotlight After a Critical Iraq Speech  —  At the close of the Senate's lame-duck session, in between formulaic tributes to senators departing voluntarily or otherwise, a Republican backbencher suddenly rose to give one of the most passionate and surprising speeches about the war in Iraq yet delivered in Congress.

Escalating Silence  —  I don't know when Scott Stanzel started working as a White House spokesman, but his rejoinder to Joe Biden's anti-escalation views doesn't make much sense: "I would hope that Senator Biden would wait to hear what the president has to say before announcing what he's opposed to."

Attorney General Receives 400 Complaints Against Nifong  —  RALEIGH — The North Carolina Attorney General's Office has received more than 400 complaints about Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, according to an attorney general's representative.  —  Nifong, who critics …

The New Pocket Casualty Counter From The Associated Press!  —  Are you freakishly obsessed with the daily casualty count in Iraq?  Do you find yourself disappointed when a day or two goes by and no American soldiers die?  Have you ever been at a cocktail party and said …

Yeas and Nays: Thursday, Dec. 28  —  WASHINGTON - Jeff DuFour and Patrick Gavin cover people, power and politics in the beltway each weekday.  Email them at yan@dcexaminer.com .  —  How to be an A-list Washingtonian  —  Do you want to be the consummate Washingtonian?

Saving Afghanistan  —  Summary: With the Taliban resurgent, reconstruction faltering, and opium poppy cultivation at an all-time high, Afghanistan is at risk of collapsing into chaos.  If Washington wants to save the international effort there, it must increase its commitment to the area …