Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins dies at 62  —  Best-selling author, sharp-witted Texas liberal succumbs to breast cancer  —  Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins poses for a portrait at her home Sept. 22 in Austin, Texas.  She died Wednesday at 62 after a long battle with breast cancer.

A hearty F*** You to William Arkin  —  Update: Marc Danziger, the Armed Liberal over at Winds of change is much less hyperbolic about Arkin than I am and check on Fuzzy Bear's stuff too.  —  Apologies for the F bombs bursting in air, but...well just read on.

Chirac Unfazed by Nuclear Iran, Then Backtracks  —  President Jacques Chirac said this week that if Iran had one or two nuclear weapons, it would not pose a big danger, and that if Iran were to launch a nuclear weapon against a country like Israel, it would lead to the immediate destruction of Tehran.

Senate foes of troop buildup join forces  —  WASHINGTON - Two senators, a Republican and a Democrat, leading separate efforts to put Congress on record against President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq joined forces Wednesday, agreeing on a nonbinding resolution that would oppose the plan and potentially embarrass the White House.

Biden Unwraps His Bid for '08 With an Oops!  —  In an era of meticulous political choreography, the staging of the kickoff for this presidential candidacy could hardly have gone worse.  —  Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, who announced his candidacy on Wednesday with the hope …

White House to Release Details on Eavesdropping  —  Bowing to bipartisan pressure from lawmakers, the Justice Department announced today that it was turning over to select members of Congress secret documents detailing the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program.

TV Network Takes Responsibility For 'Hoax Devices'  —  BOSTON — Turner Broadcasting plans to take responsibility for the "hoax devices" that were found at several locations in and around Boston Wednesday that forced police bomb units to scramble throughout the area.

Franken tells DFLers he's running for Senate  —  WASHINGTON - Comedian and radio talk show host Al Franken has begun calling Democratic members of Congress and prominent DFLers to tell them he will definitely challenge Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in 2008, the Star Tribune has learned.

Cheney's Handwritten Notes Implicate Bush in Plame Affair  —  Copies of handwritten notes by Vice President Dick Cheney, introduced at trial by defense attorneys for former White House staffer I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, would appear to implicate George W. Bush in the Plame CIA Leak case.

British Police Arrest 9 on Terror Charges  —  British police arrested nine people Wednesday in the central England city of Birmingham as part of a "major counterterrorism operation," police said.  —  Police released no immediate details, but British media, citing unnamed security sources …

Democratic Edge in Partisanship in 2006 Evident at National, State Levels  —  Utah and Idaho most Republican states, Rhode Island and Vermont most Democratic  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A review of Gallup polling data from 2006 underscores the relative strength the Democratic Party currently enjoys versus …

Sanchez Accuses Democrat of Calling Her a 'Whore,' Resigns from Hispanic Group  —  Rep. Loretta Sanchez has quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, accusing the chairman, Rep. Joe Baca, of telling people she's a "whore."  —  Baca denied the charge.  —  In an interview with The Politico Wednesday …

Is the Unemployment Rate About to Collapse?  —  Know what's really impressive about today's boffo 3.5 percent GDP growth number for the fourth quarter?  It wasn't so long ago that Wall Street economists were wondering if the number would be a "one-handle"-meaning growth between 1.0 and 1.9 percent.

Sunni Mosques Still Show Damage in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq — Four Sunni mosques attacked in late November in the embattled Hurriyah neighborhood of Baghdad still bear scars from the attacks and all are now either under Shiite Muslim control or closed.  —  Immediately after the Nov. 24 incidents …

General says U.S. has proof Iran arming Iraqi militias  —  BAGHDAD — Iran is supplying Iraqi militias with a variety of powerful weapons including Katyusha rockets, the No. 2 U.S. general in Iraq said Tuesday.  —  "We have weapons that we know through serial numbers ... that trace back to Iran …

Bush Addresses Income Inequality  —  Economic Speech Touches on Executive Pay as Senators Move to Rein It In  —  President Bush acknowledged Wednesday that there is growing income inequality in the United States, addressing for the first time a subject that has long concerned Democrats and liberal economists.