Bob Kerrey Apologizes To Obama Over Raising Muslim “Issue”  —  I didn't mean to do it.  —  That's the gist of former Nebraska Senator and Hillary Clinton supporter Bob Kerrey's written apology to Democratic Senator Barack Obama for raising the issue of Obama's Muslim background …

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.

Clinton Launches Obama Attack Web Sites  —  Clinton Campaign Registered Names of Two Web Sites to Attack Ill. Senator  —  ABC News has learned that the campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has registered the names of two Web sites with the express goal of attacking her chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

Senior Qaeda Theologian Urges His Followers To End Their Jihad  —  WASHINGTON — One of Al Qaeda's senior theologians is calling on his followers to end their military jihad and saying the attacks of September 11, 2001, were a “catastrophe for all Muslims."  —  In a serialized manifesto written …

Giuliani Admitted to St. Louis Hospital … KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Republican Rudy Giuliani was admitted to a hospital Wednesday night for flu-like symptoms, his campaign said.  —  The former New York City mayor felt the symptoms while campaining for the Republican presidential nomination in Missouri …

The Endless Campaign  —  The Iowa caucuses are 14 days away, with the New Hampshire primary five days later.  And what follows from there won't be pretty.  The way Americans are selecting our presidential candidates in 2008 is, frankly, a mess.  —  The first problem is the overall length of the campaign.

Romney fields questions on King  —  Campaign says claim not literal  —  Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said he watched his father, the late Michigan Gov. George Romney, in a 1960s civil rights march in Michigan with Martin Luther King Jr.

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 …

MBIA Bond Risk Soars on $8.1 Billion CDO Disclosure  —  Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) — MBIA Inc. tumbled the most since 1987, and the risk of default soared after the world's biggest bond insurer revealed that it guarantees $8.1 billion of collateralized debt obligations repackaging other CDOs and securities linked to subprime mortgages.

Torture house, mass graves discovered in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Coalition forces found 26 bodies buried in mass graves and a bloodstained “torture complex,” with chains hanging from walls and ceilings and a bed connected to an electrical system, the military said Wednesday.

Ron Paul's thought-provoking choice on racist's $$$  —  You have to hand it to Ron Paul.  Most presidential candidates who weren't running as white supremacists themselves would reflexively return a donation from a self-proclaimed racist so fast they would break speed records for financial transactions.

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 …