Huckabee not aware of NIE report on Iran  —  My colleague David Paul Kuhn attended an on-the-record dinner with Mike Huckabee and a group of reporters tonight in Des Moines.  —  The transcript speaks for itself:

Edwards Takes Step Back as Two Others Slug It Out  —  As Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama exchanged frequent and increasingly personal jabs on the campaign trail this week, John Edwards found himself on the sidelines.  And enjoying it.  —  In Waterloo, Iowa …

Bush-Bashing Is Fun  —  But here's what you missed amid the Iranapalooza excitement.  Some of the elusive and much sought-after political progress in Iraq: … Meanwhile, in Baghdad: … Incremental, though significantly more progress than, say, Congress has made lately.  On anything.

Poll Shows Romney With Wide Lead in New Hampshire  —  Mitt Romney holds a sizeable lead in New Hampshire in a new Washington Post-ABC poll, with 37 percent of likely Republican primary voters, compared to 20 percent for John McCain, 16 percent for Rudy Giuliani and 9 percent for Mike Huckabee.

Documents Expose Huckabee's Role In Serial Rapist's Release  —  Little Rock, Ark — As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee aggressively pushed for the early release of a convicted rapist despite being warned by numerous women that the convict had sexually assaulted them or their family members, and would likely strike again.

BBC 'took terrorist trainers paintballing'  —  The BBC funded a paintballing trip for men later accused of Islamic terrorism and failed to pass on information about the 21/7 bombers to police, a court was told yesterday.  —  Mohammed Hamid, who is charged with overseeing a two-year radicalisation programme …

More than 10,000 jet into Bali for global warming conference  —  U.N. official rejects notion attendees adding to problem  —  BALI, Indonesia — Never before have so many people converged to try to save the planet from global warming, with more than 10,000 jetting into this Indonesian resort island …

THE PARTY'S OVER  —  medinar@phillynews.com 215-854-5985 Staff writer Gloria Campisi contributed to this report  —  JOCELYN SARAH Kirsch had planned to throw a 25th birthday party tonight at an upscale Rittenhouse Square eatery for her live-in love, Edward Kyle Anderton.

Romney fires landscapers over illegal immigrants  —  (CNN) — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Tuesday fired a landscaping company that worked at his home in Boston, Massachusetts, after he said he learned it employs illegal immigrants.  —  "I am disappointed that our relationship must end …

Wash. Post Obama story under fire  —  The Washington Post is accustomed to criticism of its coverage from the right and left blogospheres, but a Nov. 29 front page story about Barack Obama's rumored Muslim ties came with a twist: Many voices within its own newsroom joined in the firestorm.

Going Down  —  Democracy once seemed ascendant in many East and Central Asian countries.  Not so much anymore.  —  Most days, the lobby of the Peninsula Hotel in Manila caters to a cross-section of elite Philippine society.  Politicians in sharp suits swap stories in the coffee shop …