Romney for President  —  Many conservatives are finding it difficult to pick a presidential candidate.  Each of the men running for the Republican nomination has strengths, and none has everything — all the traits, all the positions — we are looking for.  Equally conservative analysts can reach …

In Poll, Huckabee Closes on Giuliani  —  Three weeks before the first contest of the 2008 campaign, Republicans remain sharply divided over whom to choose as their presidential nominee and which of the five leading candidates best embodies the core values of a fractured GOP, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

DEMS HOLD FIRE ON HUCKABEE; SEE 'EASY KILL' IN GENERAL ELECTION  —  Democrat party officials are avoiding any and all criticism of Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee, insiders reveal.  —  The Democratic National Committee has told staffers to hold all fire, until he secures the party's nomination.

Dad charged in teen's death  —  A 16-year-old girl is dead and her father has been charged with murder after an attack in a Mississauga home.  —  Aqsa Parvez, a student at Applewood Heights Secondary School, had been on life support in hospital since yesterday morning.

C.I.A. Chief Says Others Decided Fate of Video  —  Gen. Michael V. Hayden, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, distanced himself today from the decision to record and subsequently destroy hundreds of hours of video footage taken during the interrogations of senior Al Qaeda captives.

The Pope condemns the climate change prophets  —  Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.  —  The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested …

Bush to tap Glassman to shape US image  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush intends to name a well-known conservative commentator and journalist to lead the State Department's struggling efforts to improve the U.S.'s image abroad, replacing long-time confidante Karen Hughes, who is leaving government …

U.S. SENTENCING COMMISSION VOTES UNANIMOUSLY TO APPLY AMENDMENT RETROACTIVELY FOR CRACK COCAINE OFFENSES  —  Effective Date for Retroactivity Set for March 3, 2008  —  The United States Sentencing Commission unanimously voted today to give retroactive effect to a recent amendment …

Clinton Pushes Electability Argument  —  With the Iowa caucuses now just 23 days away, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign is using the electability argument as a cudgel against Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).  —  In a hastily-organized conference call this afternoon, which just happened …

Huckabee Asks if Mormons Believe Jesus, Devil Are Brothers  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks in an upcoming article, ''Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?''

Police: N.Y. subway riders beaten after 'Happy Hanukkah' greeting  —  Four Jewish subway riders who wished other people Happy Hanukkah were  —  pelted with anti-Semitic remarks before being beaten, New York police and prosecutors said.  The incident was being investigated as a possible hate crime.

NBC refunds advertisers as ratings plunge  —  NEW YORK (Media Week) - Fourth-ranked broadcaster NBC has quietly begun reimbursing advertisers an average of $500,000 each for failing to reach guaranteed ratings levels, the first time a network has taken such a step in years, media buyers said.

G.O.P. Flexes Their Muscle in the Senate  —  WASHINGTON —Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, operates with near-robotic efficiency when it comes to negotiating budget figures in public, consistently refusing to answer questions that would ever commit him to a specific number at the bargaining table.

Bush issues 29 pardons but Libby not among them  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush granted pardons to 29 people on Tuesday but Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, was not among them.  —  There has been speculation that before he leaves office …

Republicans win in Va., Ohio elections  —  Republicans retained two House seats in special elections Tuesday, including a hotly contested Ohio race that the two parties spent nearly $700,000 trying to win.  —  Republican officials immediately pointed to the issue of immigration …

GALLUP: Romney Speech Flopped?  Many Still Say Won't Vote for Mormon  —  NEW YORK A new Gallup Poll finds that better than one in six Americans, including similar numbers of Republicans and Democrats, indicate they would not support their party's nominee for president if that person were a Mormon.