Suicide truck bomb kills at least 60 in Baghdad … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Many of the 60 killed and 220 wounded by a suicide truck bomb blast in central Baghdad Tuesday morning were unemployed Iraqis lured toward the explosion by an offer of work, according to an official with the Iraqi Interior Ministry.

Bush courts Democrats — but may be 6 years too late  —  (12-12) 04:00 PST Washington — Hoping to avoid a lame-duck final two years in the White House, President Bush is openly wooing moderate and conservative House Democrats as potential allies on a variety of issues as their party prepares to take control of Congress in January.

A Battle Hillary Clinton Should Relish  —  Hillary Rodham Clinton faces a maddening challenge.  Many of the people who like and admire her, who believe she has good values and would make an excellent president, are not sure they are for her because they don't think she can win.

A Dictator's Double Standard  —  Augusto Pinochet tortured and murdered.  His legacy is Latin America's most successful country.  —  AUGUSTO PINOCHET, who died Sunday at the age of 91, has been vilified for three decades in and outside of Chile, the South American country he ruled for 17 years.

Iraqis Consider Ways to Reduce Power of Cleric  —  After discussions with the Bush administration, several of Iraq's major political parties are in talks to form a coalition whose aim is to break the powerful influence of the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr within the government, senior Iraqi officials say.

Small nuclear war could lead to cooldown  —  SAN FRANCISCO - Some of the scientists who first advanced the controversial "nuclear winter" theory more than two decades ago have come up with another bleak forecast: Even a regional nuclear war would devastate the environment.

It's Not Apartheid  —  JIMMY CARTER'S MORONIC NEW BOOK ABOUT ISRAEL.  —  In the six decades since the founding of Israel, there have been about one and a half new ideas for solving the most intractable problem on the map of the world.  In fact, ever since Britain's Balfour Declaration …

Saudi Ambassador Abruptly Resigns, Leaves Washington  —  Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, flew out of Washington yesterday after informing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and his staff that he would be leaving the post after only 15 months on the job …

Holocaust Deniers and Skeptics Gather in Iran  —  Holocaust deniers and skeptics from around the world gathered at a government-sponsored conference here today to discuss their theories about whether six million Jews were indeed killed by the Nazis during World War II and whether gas chambers existed.

Kofi Annan's Farewell Speech  —  (Please put on your headphones if you wish to hear this speech translated from the original Bulls**t)  —  In Missouri today, departing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan delivered these thoughtful reflections on 10 years of learning:

Gay and Evangelical, Seeking Paths of Acceptance  —  RALEIGH, N.C. — Justin Lee believes that the Virgin birth was real, that there is a heaven and a hell, that salvation comes through Christ alone and that he, the 29-year-old son of Southern Baptists, is an evangelical Christian.

A devil food is turning our kids into homosexuals  —  There's a slow poison out there that's severely damaging our children and threatening to tear apart our culture.  The ironic part is, it's a "health food," one of our most popular.  —  Now, I'm a health-food guy, a fanatic …

To Stem Iraqi Violence, U.S. Aims to Create Jobs  —  As Iraq descends further into violence and disarray, the Pentagon is turning to a weapon some believe should have been used years ago: jobs.  —  Members of a small Pentagon task force have gone to the most dangerous areas of Iraq …

$20bn gas project seized by Russia  —  Shell is being forced by the Russian government to hand over its controlling stake in the world's biggest liquefied gas project, provoking fresh fears about the Kremlin's willingness to use the country's growing strength in natural resources as a political weapon.

Christmas trees are going back up at Sea-Tac airport  —  The holiday trees that went away in the middle of the night are back.  —  Tonight, Port of Seattle staff began putting up the trees they had taken down Friday night after a local rabbi requested that a Hanukkah menorah also be displayed.