Ottawa reaches $10M settlement with Arar  —  Ottawa has reached a $10-million settlement with Maher Arar over Canada's role in a U.S. decision to deport him to Syria, where he was jailed and tortured.  —  Prime Minister Stephen Harper is scheduled to make the settlement announcement on Friday afternoon …

Bush: 'I'm the decision-maker' in Iraq troops  —  President challenges lawmakers to give 'surge' plan a chance to work  —  President Bush, right, meets with Defense chief Robert Gates, left, and Army Lt. General David Petraeus at the White House.  —  NBC VIDEO  —  Jan. 26: President Bush speaks to reporters on Friday.

Will Rove Testify?  —  The president's political guru—and counselor Dan Bartlett—have been subpoenaed by Scooter Libby's lawyers.  What it means for the most-watched trial in Washington—and who's next on the witness stand.  —  Rove watching President Bush fly off to Camp David last Saturday

House Speaker Pelosi visits Iraq  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) and Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), both vocal war critics, were in the Iraqi capital Friday at the head of a delegation of House members on a fact-finding mission …

Hagel Splits the Republican Ranks  —  There are two Republican parties operating in the nation's capital on the war in Iraq.  One is led by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, the other by Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.  —  Bush and Cheney seem intent on burying the party's interests in the mangled streets of Baghdad.

Video: Gates says the anti-surge resolution "emboldens the enemy"  —  If you haven't signed the pledge yet, now's your chance.  —  Update: Mitch McConnell: "This is it."  —  Update: CNN's got a copy of the early draft of McCain's resolution.  Bet-hedging with an eye to 2008 or grudging compromise …

4 troops abducted, killed in Iraq attack  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - In perhaps the boldest and most sophisticated attack in four years of warfare, gunmen speaking English, wearing U.S. military uniforms and carrying American weapons abducted four U.S. soldiers last week at the provincial headquarters …

Back in the Saddle  —  You know things are going well on your blog when everyone is so busy they don't even have room for you to post.  Our site administrator RBG finally gave me the thumbs up to start blogging again today since things are thankfully a bit slower (emptywheel's fingers must …

Bush accepts Republican House resolution on Iraq  —  CAMBRIDGE, Maryland (Reuters) - President George W. Bush met privately with House Republicans on Friday and agreed to an alternative resolution to set "benchmarks" for progress in his plan to send more troops to Iraq, party officials said.

Amid Question of Flip-flopping, McCain to Back Reform Bill  —  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will sponsor a bill to strengthen campaign finance laws in this session of Congress despite vehement opposition to campaign finance reform from conservative Republican activists whose support he needs …

Corrections: For the Record  —  Because of an editing error, an article in some copies on Jan. 14 about wealthy foreigners moving to Switzerland and negotiating tax breaks incorrectly described a formula used for determining a lump sum tax payment.  The immigrants negotiate an annual payment based …

China censorship damaged us, Google founders admit  —  Jane Martinson in Davos  —  Google's decision to censor its search engine in China was bad for the company, its founders admitted yesterday.  —  Google, launched in 1998 by two Stanford University dropouts, Sergey Brin and Larry Page …

House majority leader threatens revised resolution authorizing force in Iraq  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Democrats may push a new bill authorizing the use of force in Iraq — replacing the 2002 bill that allowed the Bush administration to proceed with the war, a top Democrat said Friday.