Israel challenges report on nukes  —  TEL AVIV — Israeli officials yesterday disputed the conclusions of Monday's surprise U.S. assessment of Iran's nuclear program, citing "clear and solid intelligence" that Iran is continuing to develop nuclear weapons to threaten Israel and Europe.

Huckabee not aware of NIE report on Iran  —  My colleague David Paul Kuhn attended an on-the-record dinner with Mike Huckabee and a group of reporters tonight in Des Moines.  —  The transcript speaks for itself:

Poll Shows Romney With Wide Lead in New Hampshire  —  Mitt Romney holds a sizeable lead in New Hampshire in a new Washington Post-ABC poll, with 37 percent of likely Republican primary voters, compared to 20 percent for John McCain, 16 percent for Rudy Giuliani and 9 percent for Mike Huckabee.

Hill Democrats Explore New Strategy on Iraq  —  Plan Would Link Funding to Political Gains  —  Facing increasing evidence of military progress in Iraq, some Democratic congressional leaders are eyeing a shift in legislative strategy that would abandon a link between $50 billion …

Time to Talk to Iran  —  Regardless of what one thinks about the National Intelligence Estimate's conclusion that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003 — and there is much to question in the report — its practical effects are indisputable.  The Bush administration cannot …

Documents Expose Huckabee's Role In Serial Rapist's Release  —  Little Rock, Ark — As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee aggressively pushed for the early release of a convicted rapist despite being warned by numerous women that the convict had sexually assaulted them or their family members, and would likely strike again.

Lawn work at Romney's home still done by illegal immigrants  —  Ricardo Saenz, owner of the company that employed illegal immigrants, worked on Romney's lawn recently.  —  By Maria Cramer and Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff; and Connie Paige, Globe Correspondent

BBC 'took terrorist trainers paintballing'  —  The BBC funded a paintballing trip for men later accused of Islamic terrorism and failed to pass on information about the 21/7 bombers to police, a court was told yesterday.  —  Mohammed Hamid, who is charged with overseeing a two-year radicalisation programme …

Which Democrat's Health Plan Really, Truly Covers More People?  —  While the leading Democratic presidential candidates agree on most policy issues, a sharp dispute has emerged: Who would do more to provide health coverage for the uninsured?  —  Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama …

Alexander leaps forward  —  Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) appears to have emerged as the front-runner in the two-way race for a plum Senate Republican leadership position, aides and senators said Tuesday.  —  According to two people tracking the race, more than 25 senators in the 49-member conference …

Wash. Post Obama story under fire  —  The Washington Post is accustomed to criticism of its coverage from the right and left blogospheres, but a Nov. 29 front page story about Barack Obama's rumored Muslim ties came with a twist: Many voices within its own newsroom joined in the firestorm.

More than 10,000 jet into Bali for global warming conference  —  U.N. official rejects notion attendees adding to problem  —  BALI, Indonesia — Never before have so many people converged to try to save the planet from global warming, with more than 10,000 jetting into this Indonesian resort island …