For Democrats, Iowa Still Up for Grabs  —  The top three Democratic presidential contenders remain locked in a close battle in Iowa, with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) seeing her advantages diminish on key issues, including the questions of experience and which candidate is best prepared …

Thompson skids while Romney, Paul climb in N.H. poll  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson has skidded into sixth place in a new CNN/WMUR poll of likely Republican voters in New Hampshire, edged out by ex-Libertarian and anti-war congressman Ron Paul and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Bilal Hussein case update: Military to bring charges, AP complains; Update: "MNF-I possesses convincing and irrefutable evidence that Bilal Hussein is a threat to security and stability as a link to insurgent activity"  —  Update 11:50pm Eastern: Via the AFP, the US military reveals some details...

Panel Picks 4 Debate Sites, Angering Excluded New Orleans  —  The Commission on Presidential Debates has picked Oxford, Miss.; St. Louis; Nashville; and Hempstead, N.Y., as the sites of the presidential and vice-presidential debates in the general election campaign next year.

Paulose steps down, takes D.C. job  —  Minnesota's U.S. attorney, Rachel Paulose  —  U.S. Attorney quit today in wake of public comments last week.  —  U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose quit her job in Minnesota today, effective in January.  The announcement from her office said she will return to Washington …

America the Unwelcoming  —  The United States is the only major country in the world to which travel has declined amid a tourist boom.  —  As an immigrant, I've always loved Thanksgiving for all the corniest reasons.  It's a distinctly American holiday, secular and inclusive, focused on food, family and gratitude.

A Response to Andrew Sullivan  —  In my article "The Case for Bombing Iran" (COMMENTARY, June 2007), in my book World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism, and in various public appearances (including a televised debate with Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek), I quoted the Ayatollah Khomeini as having said the following:

News staffers at CBS authorize a strike  —  Union officials hope the vote prompts the network to resume negotiations.  The two sides last met in January.  —  NEW YORK — CBS news writers, graphic artists and other staffers who work for the network's television and radio news operations voted …

GOOD NEWS FROM IRAQ.  —  A few weeks ago, in Britain's Prospect magazine, the paper's foreign editor, Bartle Bull, published a bold essay saying that the high tide of violence in Iraq was essentially behind us and that the ebb had disclosed some interesting things.