Giuliani OK after checkup at hospital  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Republican Rudy Giuliani planned to head home to New York City on Thursday after spending the night in a St. Louis hospital getting checked out for flu-like symptoms, his campaign said.  —  “After precautionary tests …

Tancredo to abandon presidential bid  —  DENVER - Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo, whose forceful opposition to illegal immigration vaulted him to national prominence, plans to announce he is abandoning his long-shot bid for the presidency, a person close to Tancredo said Wednesday.

WAS IT ALL A DREAM?  —  EXCLUSIVE: Mitt Romney claims that his father marched with MLK, but the record says otherwise  —  In the most-watched speech of his political career, speaking on “Faith in America” at College Station, Texas, earlier this month, Mitt Romney evoked the strongest …

Down to the wire in Iowa: Dems in a dead heat  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Two weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses and it  —  appears to be a dead heat in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination in the Hawkeye State, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll out Thursday morning.

Congress Averts Higher Tax Bill for Middle Class  —  WASHINGTON — Congress on Wednesday gave final approval to a plan that will spare millions of middle-class taxpayers higher taxes in the coming months.  The White House welcomed the development and said President Bush would sign the bill.

Powerful Iraq cleric may extend freeze on militia  —  NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is considering extending a freeze on the activities of his powerful Mehdi Army militia, his official spokesman said.  —  “Yes, there is a chance that the freeze on the Mehdi Army …

Official: Justice Dept. slowed probe into phone jamming  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department delayed prosecuting a key Republican official for jamming the phones of New Hampshire Democrats until after the 2004 election, protecting top GOP officials from the scandal until the voting was over.

Crackdown has illegal immigrants leaving Arizona  —  NOGALES, Sonora - It's a common scene this time of year: streams of overloaded cars, pickups and vans with U.S. license plates crossing into Mexico for the holidays.  —  Most are filled with Hispanic families from Arizona and other states …

A Nuclear Site Is Breached  —  South African Attack Should Sound Alarms  —  An underreported attack on a South African nuclear facility last month demonstrates the high risk of theft of nuclear materials by terrorists or criminals.  Such a crime could have grave national security implications …

Kristol, Krauthammer Are Out of Time  —  Bill Kristol.  —  Two conservative Time magazine columnists are on their way out the door: Neither William Kristol nor longtime contributor Charles Krauthammer will be on contract with the magazine starting next month.

Sondra K-Grande Conservative Blogress Diva 2008  —  When we launched the Grande Conservative Blogress Diva contest this year, we expected to have a number of blogresses nominated and seconded as we did.  So, we assumed a run-off would be necessary.  —  What we did not anticipate was the number of glitches in this year's competition.

EPA Chief Denies Calif. Limit on Auto Emissions  —  Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson yesterday denied California's petition to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, overruling the unanimous recommendation of the agency's legal and technical staffs.

Clinton Advisers Say Edwards Is a Threat  —  2-WAY RACE?  DO I HEAR 3?  —  Clinton Advisers Say Edwards Is a Threat  —  INDEPENDENCE, Iowa — Advisers to Hillary Clinton have been pushing the notion that John Edwards poses a growing threat in the Iowa caucuses, suggesting …