Officials: Al Qaeda claims it killed Bhutto  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin Thursday citing an alleged claim of responsibility by al Qaeda for former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, a DHS official told CNN.

Be Reasonable  —  As Iowa sizes up the candidates, so do I.  —  By next week politically active Iowans will have met and tallied their votes.  Their decision this year will have a huge impact on the 2008 election, and a decisive impact on various candidacies.  Some will be done in.  Some will be made.

Under Attack, Drug Maker Turned to Giuliani for Help  —  In western Virginia, far from the limelight, United States Attorney John L. Brownlee found himself on the telephone last year with a political and legal superstar, Rudolph W. Giuliani.  —  For years, Mr. Brownlee and his small team …

Clinton's “don't ask” policy  —  As she races through Iowa in the days before next week's caucuses, Hillary Clinton is taking few chances.  She tells crowds that it's their turn to “pick a president,” but over the last two days she has not invited them to ask her any questions.

Trouble With Trade  —  While the United States has long imported oil and other raw materials from the third world, we used to import manufactured goods mainly from other rich countries like Canada, European nations and Japan.  —  But recently we crossed an important watershed …

Giuliani Campaign Official: Rudy Is The Only Candidate Who Can Chase “The Muslims"..."Back Into Their Caves"  —  From the Guardian UK via TPM: (h/t SteveAudio)  —  Winning hearts and minds the world over...  John Deady, Co-Chair for New Hampshire's Veterans for Rudy:

The 2007 Golden Monkeyfist Awards...  Finally!  —  The big awards are here, and I am ever humbled by the incredible lot of excellent consonant-level, unsung, Progressive blogs out there.  I honestly wish that I had time for more awards, but, we all have real jobs, and only so much time in a day to read new blogs.

Military Paper Challenges Defense Dept.  —  WASHINGTON — Top editors at the military newspaper Stars and Stripes are asking for full disclosure of the paper's relationship with a Department of Defense publicity program, called America Supports You, after disclosures that money for the program was funneled through the newspaper.

Obama catches Clinton in N.H.; Iowa remains a 3-way contest  —  ELIMINATING THE GAP: Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in Des Moines.  Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses kick off the election season.  He is in a virtual three-way tie for the lead in Iowa …

Credit Crisis?  Just Wait for a Replay  —  What if it's not just subprime?  —  As 2007 ends, it seems that the financial world shakes every time a company reveals some new exposure to the disastrous world of subprime mortgage lending.  —  But just how different was subprime lending …

Defaults moving beyond sub-prime  —  Joan Olsen, a retired welfare worker, fears she'll join the ranks of the delinquent.  She said she didn't fully understand the loan terms when she refinanced her San Diego condominium 15 months ago with an option ARM.  “I have no one but myself to blame …

Rallying the middle class  —  I GREW UP in a small, rural town, and my parents didn't have a lot of money.  My mother worked at the post office and my father earned his living in a textile mill.  They worked hard to provide a better life for their children, and they taught me to believe …