Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002  —  Intelligence Panels' Chiefs Did Not Then Protest CIA Technique  —  In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody.

DEM RACE TIGHTER THAN EVER; HUCKABEE SURGE CONTINUES  —  From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro  —  If the first round of MSNBC/McClatchy/Mason-Dixon presidential state  —  polls are any indication, we're in for a wild ride these next six weeks.

Bolton calls report on Iran quasi-putsch  —  The former ambassador to the U.N. says the the latest intelligence estimate is meant not to inform but to influence policy.  —  BERLIN — U.S. intelligence services attempted to influence political policy by releasing their assessment …

Civil Rights Icon Calls Obama Too Young  —  ATLANTA (AP) - Civil rights icon Andrew Young says Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is too young and lacks the support network to ascend to the White House.  —  In a media interview posted online, Young also quipped …

As a Republican, I'm on the Fringe  —  Are university faculties biased toward the left?  And is this diminishing universities' role in American public life?  Conservatives have been saying so since William F. Buckley Jr. wrote "God and Man at Yale" — in 1951.

BUSHIES GAIN ACCESS TO NBC AIRWAVES  —  For quite a while, it seemed as if the only political ads that were rejected by television networks came from the left.  Last week, for example, Fox News rejected an ad from the Center for Constitutional Rights about the administration's torture because …

Oprah Winfrey Hits Campaign Trail for Obama  —  When she begins a typical show, seldom does Oprah Winfrey question the power of her brand or wonder aloud about the influence that accompanies her golden seal of approval.  —  But when Ms. Winfrey strode onto a stage here Saturday …

ABC's "Man in the Middle" isn't.  —  After a whirlwind highly-qualified-contrition* tour of the media, the man who credits himself with convincing Karl Rove to move all the way to the right because the center no longer exists has landed at ABC News.  Predictably, he's going to be providing us with his bipartisan view from the center.

Firsthand account of the Von Maur shooting  —  The Shack has the privilege of being able to talk with one of the witnesses from the third floor of the Von Maur store at Westroads Mall in Omaha.  —  On the condition of anonymity, he has agreed to tell his account of what happened.

Rudy, Mitt, Fred, John, Mike, Duncan, Ron, Tom — and Alan  —  The Republican presidential field will debate next Wednesday in Des Moines in what will be the last and most important debate before the January 3 Iowa caucuses.  What many observers haven't thought about is that the field …