S.C. poll: Huckabee bolts to top of GOP; Obama cuts into Clinton lead  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee surged to the top among Republican presidential candidates in South Carolina, while Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead over Sen. Barack Obama among Democrats narrowed since July in that state, according to a new poll.

Senate passes energy bill without oil tax increase  —  Senate Democrats yesterday bowed to Republicans and stripped a proposed tax increase for oil companies from a broad energy bill, clearing the way for passage of the measure that includes the first increase in vehicle gas-mileage standards in 32 years.

Unfettered 'citizen journalism' too risky  —  You're beginning to get a lot more news ... from you.  —  It ranges from the CNN YouTube debates to political blogs to cellphone video of that sniper who opened fire at an Omaha Mall.  These are all examples of so called "citizen journalism," …

An Overdose of Public Piety  —  WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney declares, "Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."  Barack Obama opens his speech at his South Carolina Oprah rally with "Giving all praise and honor to God.  Look at the day that the Lord has made."

Exclusive: Eyewitness Account of Huge Taliban Defeat  —  Afghanistan's government flag was raised Wednesday on what had been one of the biggest strongholds of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan and a leading world center of heroin production.  —  The town of about 45,000 people was secured …

Did meeting lead to Shaheen ouster?  —  From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan  —  JOHNSTON, IA — In the spin room after today's debate, Obama adviser David Axelrod said that Obama had told Clinton today that "leadership came from the top" in regards to negative attacks and campaigning.

Vuitton-clad Venezuela minister spouts socialism  —  CARACAS (Reuters) - A video of a Gucci- and Louis Vuitton-clad politician attacking capitalism then struggling to explain how his luxurious clothes square with his socialist beliefs has become an instant YouTube hit in Venezuela.

Code Huckabee  —  Is the thought of Mike Huckabee as president just vaguely scary?  Or have we learned enough about the man that we should be hair-on-fire alarmed at the prospect, still pretty remote, that he could actually win?  —  True, none of his opponents for the Republican nomination inspires much confidence.

Protecting Hillary: Bill Clinton Severs Business Ties With Billionaire Buddy Burkle  —  Bill Clinton has severed business ties with Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle, fearful that their deals could erupt into bad publicity damaging his wife's presidential bid, according to sources who know both men.

Obama edges Clinton in poll  —  Romney well ahead in 'Monitor' survey  —  December 14.  —  Barack Obama has come from behind to turn the Democratic presidential race in New Hampshire into a toss-up, according to a new Monitor opinion poll.  The results - which show Obama with a one-point edge …

House Passes Bill to Ban CIA's Use of Harsh Interrogation Tactics  —  The House approved legislation yesterday that would bar the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics, drawing an immediate veto threat from the White House and setting up another political showdown over what constitutes torture.

Homespun Meets Hard-Line  —  DES MOINES — There is a frigid grandeur to the Midwest in winter — the dark stubble in snow-layered cornfields, chunks of ice bobbing down the Missouri River, stranded cars decorating the roadside.  —  I came to Iowa to see a series of rallies by the surging Mike Huckabee …

The Ghost of a Father  —  Sometimes the trigger will be a newspaper story he is reading about Africa.  Or he may spot a group of boys on a street corner on the South Side of Chicago and think that one or more of them "could be me, they may not have a father at home."