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:

Nonpartisan AEI  —  I have a lot of problems with this Kit Seelye piece.  It's kind of weird that the usual "both sides may have a point" reporting gave way to a clear declaration that one side is right — precisely on an issue where many, many health experts believe that Obama is wrong …

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.

A new course on Iraq (for Democrats, that is)  —  The party that forced a new direction in the war needs to embrace the positive developments rather than remaining stuck in a pre-surge funk.  —  Rarely in U.S. history has a political party diagnosed a major failure in the country's approach …

THE PARTY'S OVER  —  medinar@phillynews.com 215-854-5985 Staff writer Gloria Campisi contributed to this report  —  JOCELYN SARAH Kirsch had planned to throw a 25th birthday party tonight at an upscale Rittenhouse Square eatery for her live-in love, Edward Kyle Anderton.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Lott says retirement not tied to brother-in-law's indictment  —  Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), whose sudden retirement announcement caught Senate GOP leaders by surprise last week, strongly denied any link between his decision and the indictment of Mississippi lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who is Lott's brother-in-law.

U.S. Troop Surge in Iraq Receives a Bit More Credit  —  Most still say surge isn't helping and oppose U.S. entry into Iraq  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Public views of the U.S. troop surge in Iraq have improved over the past month, and Americans' outlook about winning the war is brighter than it was in September.