Gore: I'd only consider White House bid  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former Vice President Al Gore denied again that there were any campaign plans in his immediate future, but told CNN Monday that he hadn't "ruled out getting back into the political process at some point" — and that if he did return …

Victim: Gang-Rape Cover-Up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR  —  KBR Told Victim She Could Lose Her Job If She Sought Help After Being Raped, She Says  —  A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident.

New NYTimes/CBS Poll: Explain, Don't Attack  —  The latest New York Times/CBS News poll finds voters give the presidential candidates positive marks on at least one score at this stage in their campaigns: They credit them with spending more time explaining what they would do as president rather than attacking their opponents.

Security Guard: 'God Guided Me And Protected Me'  —  Jeanne Assam Stopped Gunman At New Life Church  —  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Jeanne Assam appeared before the news media for the first time Monday and said she "did not think for a minute to run away" when a gunman entered the New Life Church …

Coming in From the Cold: CIA Spy Calls Waterboarding Necessary But Torture  —  Former Agent Says the Enhanced Technique Was Used on Al Qaeda Chief Abu Zubaydah  —  A leader of the CIA team that captured and interrogated the first major al Qaeda figure, Abu Zubaydah, says subjecting him to waterboarding was torture but necessary.

Tension in Hillaryland Grows as Plan Goes Awry: Albert R. Hunt  —  Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — To appreciate Hillary Clinton's fundamental political problem, consider the 11 Democrats from Philadelphia who gathered last week to discuss the U.S. presidential race, almost all of whom would vote for her in a general election.

EXCLUSIVE IPT INVESTIGATION UNCOVERS HLF JURY ROOM BULLYING  —  DALLAS - She felt the men were guilty and tried to explain why to the 11 other jurors.  When she finished, one juror spoke up in an angry tone.  —  "If you're going by the evidence in this room," she recalls him snapping, "then you need to go home."

Huckabee Hides His Full Gospel?  —  WASHINGTON DISPATCH: Is Mike Huckabee the presidential candidate shunning Mike Huckabee the preacher?  Before entering politics, he was a pastor at two Baptist churches.  Now his campaign tells Mother Jones it won't make his sermons available to the media and the public.

Rudy Self-Destructs on Russert  —  I have been watching Meet The Press since, I don't know, Estes Kefauver days and, I'm sad to say, Rudy Giuliani provided the worst performance I've ever seen by a major Presidential candidate.  —  Okay, I am not sad to say.  I am delighted.

Mike McConnell Is Flat Wrong  —  Mike McConnell, Director of National Intelligence, has written a misleading op-ed in today's New York Times.  Mr. McConnell's piece is a plea for Congress to renew the Protect America Act.  I and other Democrats in Congress have been working to correct problems …

Chavez Tried Rigging Referendum Vote  —  Hugo Chavez suffered a narrow but humiliating loss at the polls last week for his referendum on changing the Venezuelan constitution into a roadmap for dictatorship.  His acknowledgment of the defeat gained him praise from world leaders for his commitment to democracy.

Shea-Porter to back Obama  —  U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter has decided to endorse Barack Obama for President, UnionLeader.com has learned.  —  The freshman 1st District congresswoman had been considering staying neutral in the primary, but has now decided to get involved.

GOP launches first attack invoking Hillary  —  The Republican Party has launched its first use of unflattering images of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) to motivate voters in two congressional special elections this week, marking the beginning of what could be a year-long barrage of ads …