Poll: Obama makes gains, is even with Clinton in N.H.  —  PELHAM, N.H. — Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are locked in a dead heat among New Hampshire voters in a statewide USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, underscoring the volatility of the race less than three weeks before the nation's first primary.

Richardson Accuses Clinton of ‘Flip-Flop’ on Iraq Pullout  —  MUSCATINE, Iowa — I just got a phone call — unprompted — from Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democratic candidate for president, blasting Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for saying she would withdraw nearly all American troops …

Hasta La Vista  —  Tom Tancredo is an angry man.  —  We know this because he has proposed dropping bombs on Mecca.  We know this because he sang “Dixie” at a South Carolina gathering full of Confederate flags and white supremacists.  And we know this because he wants to expel 12 million people now living in the United States.

Bush boxed in his congressional foes  —  HALCYON DAY: Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) at the opening of the 110th Congress in January.  Over the course of a year, President Bush used his veto and a core of loyal Republicans to substantially limit gains by the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.

A Flibbertigibbet, A Will O' The Wisp, A Clown  —  How do you solve a problem like Bill Clinton?  Eugene Robinson wonders whether it wouldn't be easier to keep a wave upon the sand than to try to shoehorn him into a ceremonial post as First Spouse.  Bill already acts as though the campaign exists …

Spending Bills Still Stuffed With Earmarks  —  Democrats Had Vowed To Curtail Pet Projects  —  Twice in the past two years, Alaska lawmakers lost congressional earmarks to build two “bridges to nowhere” costing hundreds of millions of dollars after Congress was embarrassed by public complaints …

Stewart and Colbert to Return Without Writers  —  Comedy Central's pair of popular news satirists, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, will return to their late-night television shows on Jan. 7, two months after production was suspended because of a writers' strike.

An Interview With Fred Thompson's Wife, Jeri Thompson  —  Yesterday, I got together with Fred Thompson's wife, Jeri Thompson, for a phone interview as she traveled around Iowa.  Unfortunately, near the end of the interview, while she was running low on time, she hit a bad cell.

Huckabee Surges, Giuliani Plummets  —  By The Associated Press - 13 hours ago  —  THE RACE: The presidential race for Republicans in Michigan.  —  ___  —  THE NUMBERS — REPUBLICANS  —  Mitt Romney, 21 percent  —  Mike Huckabee, 19 percent  —  Rudy Giuliani, 12 percent  —  John McCain, 10 percent

Putin ‘has secret $40bn fortune’  —  An unprecedented battle is taking place inside the Kremlin in advance of Vladimir Putin's departure from office, the Guardian has learned, with claims that the president presides over a secret multibillion-dollar fortune.

Belgium arrests 14 in terrorist plot  —  BRUSSELS, Belgium - Belgian police Friday arrested 14 Muslim extremists suspected of planning the jailbreak of an al-Qaida prisoner convicted of plotting a terrorist attack on U.S. air base personnel, officials said.  —  Extra police were deployed across …

McCain Campaign Calls Allegations ‘Gutter Politics’  —  Sen. John McCain said today that he has “never done any favors for anybody — lobbyist or special-interest group” as his presidential campaign rushed out a statement denouncing allegations that he did anything to benefit a specific Washington lobbyist as “gutter politics.”