NBC: Saddam to be hanged by Sunday  —  Ex-dictator's execution expected to be carried out by start of Eid holiday  —  Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, sentenced to death for his role in 148 killings in 1982, will have his sentence carried out by Sunday, NBC News reported Thursday.

Many soldiers say troop surge a bad idea  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Many of the American soldiers trying to quell sectarian killings in Baghdad don't appear to be looking for reinforcements.  They say the temporary surge in troop levels some people are calling for is a bad idea.

Chavez to shut down opposition TV  —  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he will not renew the licence for the country's second largest TV channel which he said expired in March 2007.  —  In an address to troops, Mr Chavez said he would not tolerate media outlets working towards a coup against him.

Gerald Ford's Legacy: Cheney and Rumsfeld  —  Gerald Ford is gone, but he lives on in two of his key appointees: Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney.  Their impact on America today is greater than Ford's, who died Tuesday at 93.  —  Ford appointed Rumsfeld his chief of staff when he took office after Nixon's resignation in 1974.

N.C. Bar Files Charges Against Duke D.A.  —  RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The North Carolina bar filed ethics charges Thursday against the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse case, accusing him of saying misleading or inflammatory things to the news media about the athletes under suspicion.

Ford, Nixon Sustained Friendship for Decades  —  Months before Richard M. Nixon set a relatively unknown Michigan congressman named Gerald R. Ford on the path to the White House, Nixon turned to Ford, who called himself the embattled president's "only real friend," to get him out of trouble.

Israel Confirms Arms Shipment Sent to Aid Abbas  —  After coordination with Israel and the United States, Egypt has sent a shipment of weapons and ammunition into the Gaza Strip to forces loyal to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, Israeli officials said today.

Paging Capt. Hussein  —  Media: After Reuters was burned by an anti-Semitic photographer, you would think the "objective" press would be more careful.  How to explain, then, the mystery of Associated Press source Jamil Hussein?  —  The AP claims Hussein is a captain in the Iraqi police force and works in the Baghdad region.

A Shoot and A Miss for Right Wing Blogs  —  Steve from The Carpetbagger Report catches the righties in full "Kerry Derangement Syndrome" swing.  They love to keep pushing that "Kerry hates the troops and the troops hate Kerry" meme, even when they have to make up events to prove it.

Marines deny airstrikes used against insurgents in Ramadi  —  BAGHDAD — A large-scale U.S. military operation in Ramadi last month did not target suspected insurgents with airstrikes, U.S. military officials said.  —  Witness statements reported by The Times on Nov. 15 indicated …

Sen. Johnson Improves, Is Expected to Miss Start of Congress  —  Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) turned 60 yesterday, two weeks after emergency surgery to repair a brain hemorrhage that has left him in critical condition.  —  Julianne Fisher, a spokeswoman for the senator, said Johnson …

AP Poll: Bush Both a Villain and a Hero  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Bad guy of 2006: President Bush.  Good guy of 2006: President Bush.  When people were asked in an AP-AOL News poll to name the villains and heroes of the year, Bush topped both lists, in a sign of these polarized times.

Bush Considers Up to 20,000 More Troops for Iraq  —  The Bush administration is considering an increase in troop levels in Iraq of 17,000 to 20,000, which would be accomplished in part by delaying the departure of two Marine regiments now deployed in Anbar Province, Pentagon officials said Thursday.

John Edwards Announces Bid for 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination  —  EDWARDS: Good morning.  I'm here in New Orleans to — in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans to announce that I'm a candidate for the presidency of the United States in the election in 2008.