Poll: In Gaza, Hamas popularity wanes  —  The violent takeover of the Gaza Strip has cost Hamas some support there and bolstered its rival, Fatah, according to a poll released Sunday.  —  Hamas swept through Gaza last month, vanquishing numerically superior forces aligned with Fatah leader …

Hungering for Thompson  —  The sound of silence tells an interesting tale when it comes to Fred Thompson.  A week after reports emerged suggesting that the former Tennessee senator once lobbied for an abortion rights group, few leaders of the GOP's conservative wing have expressed concern.

Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran  —  Ewen MacAskill in Washington and Julian Borger  —  The balance in the internal White House debate over Iran has shifted back in favour of military action before President George Bush leaves office in 18 months, the Guardian has learned.

A GOP comeback strategy  —  Way behind in the polls, the party should exploit the anti-politician mood and offer a hopeful message.  —  ALL THE BIG questions for 2008 are on the Democratic side: Can Hillary Clinton show her humanity?  Does Obama have enough experience?  Will Edwards find a cheaper barber?

Execution Of Ga. Man Near Despite Recantations  —  SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Georgia man is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday for killing a police officer in 1989, even though the case against him has withered in recent years as most of the key witnesses at his trial have recanted …

Democrats Continue to Beat Republicans at the Donor Box  —  The rich got richer when it came to presidential fund-raising last quarter as the Democrats saw their big financial edge over the Republicans extend even to lesser-known candidates.  And in both parties the financial gap between the leaders and the rest of the pack widened.

Pakistan Truce Appears Defunct  —  Insurgents Strike Police, Troops; At Least 44 Die  —  A controversial peace deal between the Pakistani government and local tribal leaders in an area where al-Qaeda is known to be regrouping appeared to collapse Sunday, as tensions escalated and a fresh wave of bombings killed at least 44 people.

[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: The Waiting Game  —  The opponents of universal health care appear to have run out of honest arguments.

It's Official: McCain's Press Staff Resigns  —  Sen. John McCain's top three press aides resigned this morning, Republicans close to the campaign said and one of those aides confirmed.  —  The departure of Brian Jones, the communications director, Danny Diaz, his deputy, and Matt David …

New Populism Is Spurring Democrats on the Economy  —  On Capitol Hill and on the presidential campaign trail, Democrats are increasingly moving toward a full-throated populist critique of the current economy.  —  Clearly influenced by some of their most successful candidates …

IAEA confirms N. Korea has shut reactor  —  SEOUL, South Korea - U.N. inspectors have verified that North Korea shut down its nuclear reactor, the watchdog agency's chief said Monday, the first on-the-ground achievement toward scaling back Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions since the international standoff began in late 2002.

Pentagon balked at pleas from officers in field for safer vehicles  —  Pfc. Aaron Kincaid, 25, had been joking with buddies just before their Humvee rolled over the bomb.  His wife, Rachel, later learned that the blast blew Kincaid, a father of two from outside Atlanta, through the Humvee's metal roof.

John Edwards Vows To End All Bad Things By 2011  —  AMES, IA—In an effort to jump-start a presidential campaign that still has not broken into the top Democratic tier, former Sen. John Edwards made his most ambitious policy announcement yet at a campaign event in Iowa Monday …

Clinton, Obama, Edwards bank almost $100 million  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — The three Democratic presidential frontrunners have amassed nearly $100 million in their combined campaign warchests, almost triple the amount of their Republican counterparts, according to reports filed Sunday night with the Federal Election Commission.

On the Front Line in the War on Terrorism  —  Cops in New York and Los Angeles offer America two models for preventing another 9/11.  —  Three time zones, 3,000 miles, and a cultural galaxy apart, New York and Los Angeles face a common threat: along with Washington, D.C., they're the chief American targets of Islamic terror.