Speaker Pelosi Tempts Disaster  —  Nancy Pelosi has managed to severely scar her leadership even before taking up the gavel as the new speaker of the House.  First, she played politics with the leadership of the House Intelligence Committee to settle an old score and a new debt.

Milton Friedman, 94, Free-Market Theorist, Dies  —  Milton Friedman, the grandmaster of free-market economic theory in the postwar era and a prime force in the movement of nations toward less government and greater reliance on individual responsibility, died yesterday.  He was 94 and lived in San Francisco.

Blue Dogs back Harman for Intel panel chair  —  Eighteen members of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative House Democrats, wrote Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Thursday imploring her to choose Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) to chair the House Intelligence Committee next year.

Military may ask $127B for wars  —  WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is preparing its largest spending request yet for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a proposal that could make the conflict the most expensive since World War II.  —  The Pentagon is considering $127 billion to $160 billion …

REGAN: 'I DID NOT PAY OJ'  —  Full Statement From Publisher Judith Regan:  —  Why I Did It  —  I was sitting with Howard Stern, of all people, when the verdict came down.  Many of you probably remember where you were at that moment.  It was a moment I, like so many others, was dreading.

Minority Report: House Leadership Elections  —  House GOPers will caucus at 8 a.m. today for their leadership elections.  After a week of stating their conservative cases and strategies to their colleagues, candidates will vote by secret ballot until a majority is reached.  A quick primer in order of the ballot:

Why Iraq Is Crumbling  —  "A republic, if you can keep it."  — Benjamin Franklin, upon leaving the Constitutional Convention, in answer to "What have we got?"  —  We have given the Iraqis a republic, and they do not appear able to keep it.  —  Americans flatter themselves that they are the root of all planetary evil.

Details of the AP-Ipsos poll on President Bush and Iraq  —  Demographics and details from the AP-Ipsos poll on President George W. Bush, Iraq and the United States' direction.  The poll was conducted by Ipsos, an international polling firm:  —  OVERALL: Bush's approval on his handling …

Four Americans Kidnapped in Iraq, Austrian Civilian Killed  —  Four American and one Austrian civilian have been kidnapped in Iraq.  The five men were part of a convoy heading through the Shia dominated south of Iraq, but are thought to be held in a Sunni area.  That part of Iraq is generally patrolled by British forces.

Bush Choice for Family-Planning Post Criticized  —  The Bush administration has appointed a new chief of family-planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who worked at a Christian pregnancy-counseling organization that regards the distribution of contraceptives as "demeaning to women."

Let Them Eat Bullets  —  Foreign Affairs: A nation that's defended Europe from aggression in the 60 years since World War II is asking why Iraq can't defend itself.  The fact is, Iraqis risk their lives for their country every day.  —  Clearly the days when Democrats warned of a long twilight struggle …

Bush: Vietnam war offered lessons for Iraq  —  HANOI, Vietnam — President Bush, on his first visit to a country where America lost a two-decade-long fight against communism, said Friday the Vietnam War's lesson for today's confounding Iraq conflict is that freedom takes time to trump hatred.

APF  —  Edwards acknowledges staff asked Wal-Mart for Playstation 3  —  Last Updated:November 16.  —  Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards acknowledged Thursday that amid his criticism of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a volunteer member of his staff asked the world's largest retailer …

Jedi Knights demand Britain's fourth largest 'religion' receives recognition  —  With their vast intergalactic knowledge and ability to harness the Force, the task of convincing UN officials to recognise their cause should be a walkover for a pair of Jedi Knights.