Second Bin Laden Tape Expected  —  Brian Ross Reports:  —  A second tape from Osama bin Laden was recorded in the same location as the video released last week.  —  People in the intelligence community who have seen the tape feel it is directly related to the 9/11 anniversary since …

Delay Decision on Cuts, General Says  —  The top American commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, has recommended that decisions on the contentious issue of reducing the main body of the American troops in Iraq be put off for six months, American officials said Sunday.

Study finds left-wing brain, right-wing brain  —  Even in humdrum nonpolitical decisions, liberals and conservatives literally think differently, researchers show.  —  Exploring the neurobiology of politics, scientists have found that liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives because of how their brains work.

Democrats Reach Out to Hispanic Voters  —  Democratic presidential candidates courted the fast-growing Hispanic electorate on Sunday night by debating on a Spanish-language television network, where they promised to swiftly overhaul the immigration system and accused Republicans and President Bush of stoking anti-Hispanic sentiment.

US surge has failed - Iraqi poll  —  About 70% of Iraqis believe security has deteriorated in the area covered by the US military "surge" of the past six months, an opinion poll suggests.  —  The survey by the BBC, ABC News and NHK of more than 2,000 people across Iraq also suggests …

New Vent: Checking up on The New Republic; Update: Foer ducks  —  Michelle interviews The Weekly Standard's Michael Goldfarb about the Scott Thomas Beauchamp scandal.  We also stop by The New Republic's office in Washington to see if editor Franklin Foer will talk with us.  —  Blowback

Thompson climbs in GOP poll  —  WASHINGTON — Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson has gotten a modest bump in support after finally announcing he's running for the Republican presidential nomination, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds.  And Arizona Sen. John McCain may have started to turn around his beleaguered campaign.

The Senate's Ethics Sleight of Hand  —  The final version of the widely celebrated ethics bill, approved by overwhelming margins in both the House and Senate a month ago, finally and quietly made its way last week from Capitol Hill to the White House.  It surely will soon be signed into law by President Bush.

Listening to Petraeus  —  The president had the courage to change course on Iraq.  Does Congress?  —  Today, Gen. David Petraeus—commander of our forces in Iraq—returns to Washington to report on the war in Iraq and the new counterinsurgency strategy he has been implementing there.

Prisons Purging Books on Faith From Libraries  —  Behind the walls of federal prisons nationwide, chaplains have been quietly carrying out a systematic purge of religious books and materials that were once available to prisoners in chapel libraries.  —  The chaplains were directed by the Bureau …

Democrats' Struggle to Change Course in Iraq Has Produced Much Debate, Little Action  —  On the morning of Dec. 18, 2006, the phone lines in the office of incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid suddenly lit up — a warning signal that the coming debate over Iraq could prove a perilous exercise for congressional Democrats.

Activists take Al Gore to task on his diet  —  He may be the hero of the environmental movement for his crusade against global warming but Al Gore is about to be targeted by animal rights activists over his carnivorous contribution to greenhouse gases.  —  Citing United Nations research …

The sleazy tactics of George Soros  —  WASHINGTON (Map, News) - It appears that lurking in the political shadows with billionaire philanthropist and Democratic financier George Soros is a tar pit of old-fashioned sleaze.  It's hard to conclude otherwise in view of two recent election fraud verdicts …