SHEEHAN, IRAQ WAR PROTESTERS BREAK UP HOUSE DEMOCRATS' PRESS CONFERENCE  —  Jan. 3: Peace activist Cindy Sheehan speaks on Capitol Hill.  —  WASHINGTON — Iraq war protesters broke up a press conference by House Democrats on Wednesday with chants to bring American troops home from Iraq.

In Padilla Wiretaps, Murky View of 'Jihad' Case  —  In 1997, as the government listened in on their phone call, Adham Hassoun, a computer programmer in Broward County, Fla., proposed a road trip to Jose Padilla, a low-wage worker there.  The excursion to Tampa would be his treat, Mr. Hassoun said …

In Meetings With Allies, Clinton Hones '08 Strategy  —  The topic was the Democratic sweep in New Hampshire in November, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton couldn't get enough of it.  —  Dining in Washington recently with three allies from New Hampshire, which has the first-in-the-nation primary …

White House Won't Condemn Saddam Taunts  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration sent conflicting signals Wednesday about the taunting and baiting that accompanied Saddam Hussein's execution, with the White House declining to join criticism of the procedure and the State Department and U.S. military raising questions about it.

Intelligence Chief Is Shifted to Deputy State Dept. Post  —  John D. Negroponte, whom President Bush installed less than two years ago as the first director of national intelligence, will soon leave his post to become the State Department's second-ranking official, administration officials said Wednesday.

But It's Thomas Jefferson's Koran!  —  Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, found himself under attack last month when he announced he'd take his oath of office on the Koran — especially from Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who called it a threat to American values.

U.S. Bars Lab From Testing Electronic Voting  —  A laboratory that has tested most of the nation's electronic voting systems has been temporarily barred from approving new machines after federal officials found that it was not following its quality-control procedures and could not document that it was conducting all the required tests.

This Is Your Brain on Drugs, Dad  —  WHEN releasing last week's Monitoring the Future survey on drug use, John P. Walters, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, boasted that "broad" declines in teenage drug use promise "enormous beneficial consequences not only for our children now …

Going to Iraq  —  My blogging has been lighter than usual the past few weeks due to family time, Fox News duties, holiday chaos, holiday illness—and, yes, planning for a trip to Iraq.  As you know, ex-CNN newsman Eason Jordan extended an invitation to me three weeks ago to go to Iraq …

THE LAW CATCHES UP TO PRIVATE MILITARIES, EMBEDS  —  Since the start of the Iraq war, tens of thousands of heavily-armed military contractors have been roaming the country — without any law, or any court to control them.  That may be about to change, Brookings Institution Senior Fellow P.W. Singer notes in a Defense Tech exclusive.

Late Nite FDL: And They Call Us 'Unhinged', Partie Deux  —  We'll, there's just nothing like that good old Right Wing Civility, now is there? … Isn't that special?  —  Can you imagine the s**t-storm that would erupt if a liberal posted an entry like that on their blog?

AP: Sen. Lieberman's Party Taken Over By Critic  —  STAMFORD The Connecticut for Lieberman Party, the minor political party created by Sen. Joe Lieberman for his successful independent bid for re-election, has been taken over by a longtime critic of the senator.

The Healing Process  —  Following up on my post below, I noticed that the transcript of last night's Shields and Brooks was available and I think it deserves a little bit more attention: … There are so many things in that little exchange that I find apalling I don't know where to start.

Young celebrate freedom in a city where fear is still lurking  —  There was not a hijab or niqab in sight as clubbers at the Global Dance Hall worked up a sweat to gangsta rap and Kenyan hip-hop.  Instead, women shook their hair and stole glances at the men lining the wall.