Huckabee new GOP leader in Iowa Poll  —  Mike Huckabee has leaped ahead of Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney in Iowa, seizing first place in a new Des Moines Register poll of likely Republican caucus participants.  —  Huckabee wins the support of 29 percent of Iowans who say they definitely …

John McCain is the man to lead America  —  On Jan. 8, New Hampshire Republicans will make one of the most important choices for their party and nation in the history of our presidential primary.  Their choice ought to be John McCain.  —  We don't agree with him on every issue.

US says it has right to kidnap British citizens  —  AMERICA has told Britain that it can "kidnap" British citizens if they are wanted for crimes in the United States.  —  A senior lawyer for the American government has told the Court of Appeal in London that kidnapping foreign citizens …

N.H., Iowa Republicans care more about terror than Rudy Giuliani's trysts  —  Many voters shrugged off the renewed spotlight on Rudy Giuliani's extramarital affair - but one of his campaign officials Saturday warned the issue could "haunt" his presidential bid.

More gay men describe sexual encounters with U.S. Sen. Craig  —  Allegations made since news of the Minneapolis case broke lend weight to rumors about Craig. … David Phillips.  Mike Jones.  Greg Ruth.  Tom Russell.  —  Four gay men, willing to put their names in print and whose allegations …

Huckabee, Morris keep lines open  —  Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has been holding private conversations with Dick Morris, according to aides, a longstanding relationship that is raising new questions as Huckabee's campaign begins to take off.

Israelis hit Syrian 'nuclear bomb plant'  —  Uzi Mahnaimi in Tel Aviv and Michael Sheridan in Seoul  —  ISRAEL'S top-secret air raid on Syria in September destroyed a bomb factory assembling warheads fuelled by North Korean plutonium, a leading Israeli nuclear expert has told The Sunday Times.

Nonstop Theft and Bribery Are Staggering Iraq  —  Jobless men pay $500 bribes to join the police.  Families build houses illegally on government land, carwashes steal water from public pipes and nearly everything the government buys or sells can now be found on the black market.

THE NEW REPUBLIC TRIES TO COME CLEAN ON BEAUCHAMP SCANDAL  —  After more than five months, New Republic editor Franklin Foer has finally responded to allegations of untruths in the Iraq War reporting of Scott Beauchamp in TNR.  But as Bob Owens points out, it takes Foer thirteen pages …

Principles Amid the GOP Pack  —  If the Republican Party really wanted to hold on to the White House in 2009, it's pretty clear what it would do.  It would grit its teeth, swallow its doubts and nominate a ticket of John McCain for president and Mike Huckabee for vice president — and president-in-waiting.

Black Alabama political groups split presidential endorsements  —  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's major black political groups have split their endorsements for president, with the Alabama New South Coalition giving its support to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday.

Huckabee's Stature Rises, Mobilizing Tax Critics  —  As Mike Huckabee rises in the Republican presidential polls, fiscal conservatives have been raising alarms about a series of tax increases he oversaw while governor of Arkansas — new taxes on gasoline, nursing home beds and even pet groomers.