McCain no longer rocks in Granite State  —  As Mitt, Hillary, Barack and a dozen others jump into the presidential stampede, something interesting is happening in New Hampshire.  —  For seven years, conventional wisdom has said that the state's pivotal independent voters would line …

Republicans Halt Ethics Legislation  —  Senate Republicans scuttled broad legislation last night to curtail lobbyists' influence and tighten congressional ethics rules, refusing to let the bill pass without a vote on an unrelated measure that would give President Bush virtual line-item-veto power.

An American in Paris  —  Buchwald launched his career as a columnist in 1949 in Paris, where he wrote about the light side of Paris nightlife in the European edition of the New York Herald Tribune.  He returned to the United States around 1962 and moved to Washington, where he began writing columns filled …

BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY TO ALLOW REBUTTAL AFTER CARTER SPEECH  —  WASHINGTON — Former President Jimmy Carter won't go unchallenged after his appearance next week at Brandeis University, where he is lecturing on his latest book about what he terms the Palestinian apartheid by Israel.

Bush Retreats on Use of Executive Power  —  Allowing Court's Role in Surveillance Is Latest Step Back  —  President Bush's decision to submit his warrantless-surveillance program to the jurisdiction of a special intelligence court represents the latest step back from the expansive interpretation …

Mahdi Army expressing siege mentality  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Mahdi Army fighters said Thursday they were under siege in their Sadr City stronghold as U.S. and Iraqi troops killed or seized key commanders in pinpoint nighttime raids.  Two commanders of the Shiite militia said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki …

Happy Hours  —  SOMETHING odd happened on Capitol Hill this week.  Something that seemed to start out as a publicity stunt — the House Democratic leadership's 100-hour agenda — actually turned into a ...qualified success.  —  The passage of the Democrats' eight-part legislative package …

Speaking Chic to Power  —  LAUDING someone for their style on Capitol Hill is a lot like celebrating the best surfer on Florida's Gulf Coast — it's all relative, and some would argue irrelevant.  Washington has never embraced fashion (nor, for that matter, has the fashion world embraced Washington), and for understandable reasons.

Washington 'snubbed Iran offer'  —  Iran offered the US a package of concessions in 2003, but it was rejected, a senior former US official has told the BBC's Newsnight programme.  —  Tehran proposed ending support for Lebanese and Palestinian militant groups and helping to stabilise Iraq following the US-led invasion.

Defense reluctant to share data on Iraqi troop readiness  —  The Defense Department has resisted auditors' efforts to obtain data on the military readiness of U.S.-trained Iraqi troops, according to a senior government official.  —  Comptroller General David M. Walker told audience members …

Weather Channel Climate Expert Calls for Decertifying Global Warming Skeptics  —  Posted by Marc Morano 202-224-5762 marc_morano@epw.senate.gov (8:50pm ET)  —  The Weather Channel's most prominent climatologist is advocating that broadcast meteorologists be stripped of their scientific certification …

FOX NEWS POLL: MOST THINK TROOP SURGE IS BUSH'S LAST CHANCE IN IRAQ  —  NEW YORK — A majority of Americans consider President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq his last chance for victory there, according to a new FOX News poll.  —  Overall, the president's plan receives only minority support …

Clinton Remains the Front-runner Among Democrats  —  McCain and Giuliani are front-runners among Republicans  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Although the first primaries and caucuses of the 2008 presidential race are still one year away, there has already been a great deal of focus on the election.

Bush Faces Deepening War Opposition, Demand for Congress to Act  —  Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush failed to rally public support with his nationally televised speech announcing plans to send more soldiers to Iraq, as most Americans say they want Congress to find a way to stop the troop increase.

Time Inc. Lays Off More Than 250  —  Time Inc. began laying off more than 250 people today at its top magazines, including its most profitable title, People, which said it was shutting down its Washington, Miami and Chicago bureaus entirely.  —  Employees in those bureaus said they were …