Israel seeks all clear for Iran air strike  —  Israel is negotiating with the United States for permission to fly over Iraq as part of a plan to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.  —  To conduct surgical air strikes against Iran's nuclear programme, Israeli war planes would need to fly across Iraq.

Democrats Offer Up Chairmen For Donors  —  Party's Campaigns Had Faulted GOP For 'Selling Access'  —  Eager to shore up their fragile House and Senate majorities, congressional Democrats have enlisted their committee chairmen in an early blitz to bring millions of dollars into the party's coffers …

Panel Cites Voter Error, Not Software, in Loss of Votes  —  Florida election officials announced yesterday that an examination of voting software did not find any malfunctions that could have caused up to 18,000 votes to be lost in a disputed Congressional race in Sarasota County …

A Brave New Wikiworld  —  In the past year, Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that "anyone can edit," has been cited four times as often as the Encyclopedia Britannica in judicial opinions, and the number is rapidly growing.  In just two years, YouTube has become a household word and one of the world's most successful Web sites.

Defense Trust Hails Libby As 'Loyal Soldier In The War On Terror'  —  National Journal's Hotline reports that a recent fundraising letter issued by Scooter Libby's Legal Defense Trust includes the following quote from former Cheney aide Mary Matalin: … Scooter Libby knowingly exposed the cover of a CIA operative.

Who's Carrying The Hatchet At Justice, And Why?  —  Another US attorney has resigned, apparently forced from her job by the Department of Justice, making a total of eight since the beginning of December.  Since one normally sees this kind of turnover in the fast-food or housekeeping industries …

'Terrorist' Remark Puts Outdoorsman's Career in Jeopardy  —  Zumbo's Criticism of Hunters Who Use Assault Rifles Brings Unforgiving Response From U.S. Gun Culture  —  SEATTLE — Modern hunters rarely become more famous than Jim Zumbo.  A mustachioed, barrel-chested outdoors entrepreneur …

McConnell Threatens to Block Bid to Repeal War Resolution  —  Republican Wants to Force Vote on Guaranteeing Funding for Troops  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned yesterday that a new Democratic effort to repeal the 2002 Iraq war resolution would meet the same fate …

New Republic Cuts Back, but Bulks Up Its Image  —  The New Republic, the thinning, left-leaning weekly magazine whose circulation has been hurt by the Web and possibly by what some of its core readers view as an insufficiently progressive stance against the Bush administration, has a new ownership and a new publishing schedule.

Americans unaware of Iraqi death toll  —  Poll shows knowledge of U.S. dead, but huge underestimation of Iraqis  —  WASHINGTON - One person can tell you precisely how many Americans have been killed in Iraq.  Another pays close attention to the names and hometowns of those who die each week.

GOP War Candidate McCain: Iraq Could End My Career  —  "He has literally sacrificed his political career because of Iraq," McCain said during an appearance before the World Affairs Council and the City Club of Seattle.  "That is a great testament to his political courage."

General Plays Down Value Of Capturing Bin Laden  —  The Army's highest-ranking officer said Friday that he was unsure whether the U.S. military would capture or kill Osama bin Laden, adding, "I don't know that it's all that important, frankly."  —  "So we get him, and then what?" …