Congress is going to hold hearings on the Mitchell Report.

Jim Parque denies the charges. So does Roger Clemens.

Lawyer Rusty Hardin told reporters Clemens had never tested positive for steroids and was being falsely accused by a former trainer who feared federal prosecution. "Roger Clemens adamantly, vehemently or whatever adjective can be used, denies he has ever used steroids or whatever the word is for improper substance," said Hardin, a prominent defense attorney in Houston, where Clemens lives.

"There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today," he said.

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Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire campaign advisor Bill Shaheen resigned today after yesterday's ill-advised and unauthorized comments about Barack Obama's drug use.

Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman for Clinton and a prominent New Hampshire political figure, had raised the issue of Obama's youthful drug use during a Wednesday interview, published on washingtonpost.com.

"I made a mistake and in light of what happened, I have made the personal decision that I will step down as the co-chair of the Hillary for President campaign," Shaheen said in a statement released by the campaign Thursday. "This election is too important, and we must all get back to electing the best qualified candidate who has the record of making change happen in this country. That candidate is Hillary Clinton."

Hillary apologized to Barack Obama today on the tarmac as they waited for a plane from D.C. to Iowa for the debate.

It was an unfortunate, regrettable incident. There's no room for these kind of errors this late in the game. Shaheen did the right thing by resigning.

In a "stinging defeat" for the Bush Administration, the judge in Florida's Liberty City Seven-Sears Tower terror trial finally declared a mistrial today after jurors were still deadlocked after nine days of deliberation. They were deadlocked since day four but she made them keep deliberating. One defendant was acquitted on all counts, the jury couldn't reach a verdict on the others.

The defense portrayed the seven men as hapless figures who were either manipulated and entrapped by the FBI or went along with the plot to con "Mohammed" out of $50,000. The group never actually made contact with al-Qaida and never acquired any weapons or explosives. Prosecutors said no attack was imminent, acknowledging that the alleged terror cell was "more aspirational than operational."

But then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said after the arrests in mid-2006 that the group was emblematic of the "smaller, more loosely defined cells who are not affiliated with al-Qaida, but who are inspired by a violent jihadist message."

Let's hope it's a lesson to the FBI that they can't just send out informants to create crime plots and entrap people not otherwise predisposed into signing on.

Update: Time Magazine has a lengthy article calling it a Grade B Movie Trial.

Bump and Update: Live-Updates on Democrats debate here:

Last question: What do you carry away from Iowa? All give moving, personal statements. Richardson is funny. This was a nice ending touch, they all seemed so human and humble. (The only one who lacked emotion in his response was Obama, but maybe that's not his thing, I don't mean it as a criticism, just an observation.) This was the best, most real part of the debate. If you get to watch a recap, just watch the last two minutes.

There were no bombshells, no fights, no digs at each other. In fact, they supported each other. Hillary changed her message a bit, moving from her experience to how hard she will work as President. While she focused on change, I don't think this began today. She just usually blends her experience in with change and didn't do that much today. Obama doesn't own the change theme in my opinion. Edwards has used it from the beginning too. Obama's original themes were hope and optimism -- themes Chris Dodd emphasized today. Biden's theme today was action. Signing off now, typos will be fixed later.

****

What is your New Year's resolution? Clinton: On a personal level: Spending time with my family, exercise. Run the best campaign she can and go into white house with support of American people behind her. Edwards: No child will go to bed hungry. No family will go to emergency room and beg for health care. Dodd: Regain moral authority in world, optimism. Spend time with family. And wish that Iowans caucus correctly on Jan. 3. Richardson: Lose weight, same as every year. End the dysfunctional relationship between Congress and the President. End torture. Stay positive. Biden: Remember where you came from. Obama: Be a better father and husband. Remember this is not about me. Not get distorted by fears of losing. My participation needs to have an impact on others besides me.

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It's not just the poor who get hit with penalties over our immigration policy. Bianca Jagger, anti-death penalty and human rights activist, just got hit with eviction from her New York City apartment because of it.

Bianca rented the apartment for 20 years. She battled the landlord the past several of them, since she sued him for mold damage. The court has ruled against her and appeals are over. The Sheriff came to move her things to storage. The reason:

[The landlord] argued that the 18th-floor apartment couldn't be Jagger's primary residence — a requirement for occupying a rent-stabilized unit — since she was in the U.S. on a tourist visa that required her to show that she intended to leave after a temporary stay. The state Supreme Court's Appellate Division agreed in October, noting that Jagger, who is a British citizen, keeps at least one luxury apartment in London.

Adwatch has reviewed Hillary Clinton's newest campaign ad, featuring her mom, Dorothy Rodham.

Rodham looks younger than her 88 years and appears to be plainspoken, genuine and apolitical. Her description of her daughter comes off as heartfelt and unscripted.

Here's the 30 second ad, judge for yourselves.

Joe Biden is bad on crime issues.

Joe Biden brought us the Rave Act and has been a supporter of increased rights for law enforcement and wiretapping. Here's his voting record on issues of import:

• Voted YES on loosening restrictions on cell phone wiretapping. (Oct 2001)
• Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
• Rated 60% by the ACLU, indicating a mixed civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)(Note: he improved in subsequent years.)
• Rated 36% by NARAL, indicating a mixed voting record on abortion. (Dec 2003) (Note: he improved in later years.)

He also introduced this doozy of a bill:

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Idaho Senators Larry Craig and Michael Crapo are blocking President Bush's choice to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The nominee is Massachussetts U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, whom Bush nominated a year ago and who has been serving as Acting Director of the agency.

Crapo's spokesman, Lindsay Nothern, said the senator has heard from a number of gun dealers, gn owners and others in Idaho who "have concerns about ATF policies regarding gun sales and even ownership. Maybe the federal government is getting a little too aggressive with people who haven't done anything wrong."

Members of Second Amendment Groups are not happy with Sullivan:

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A big mistep by New Hampshire Clinton advisor Michael Sheehan today.

He said voters should study Mr. Obama’s background as they chose a candidate, warning that Republicans would scour for new details about a period of Mr. Obama’s life more than 20 years ago when he admitted using marijuana and cocaine. According to The Post’s Web site, Mr. Shaheen said, “It’ll be: ‘When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?’ There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It’s hard to overcome.”

The most important part of the story:

Clinton spokesman, Phil Singer, said, “These comments were not authorized or condoned by the campaign in any way.”

....In a statement later, Mr. Shaheen said, “I deeply regret the comments I made today, and they were not authorized by the campaign in any way.”

Ike Turner died Wednesday at age 76.

Turner, was born in Clarksdale, Miss., and was brought up there by his mother after his father, a minister, was beaten to death by a white mob. As a child Ike spent time at the local radio station, WROX, a hub for Delta blues performances. According to Mr. Turner’s autobiography, the D.J.s taught him how to cue up and segue records, sometimes leaving him alone on the air when he was 8 years old.

....in 1958, he heard Anna Mae Bullock, who joined the group and quickly became its focal point as Tina Turner. The band was soon renamed the Ike and Tina Turner Revue.

Here's a photo retrospective.

There will be a Democratic debate tomorrow in Iowa, where the January 3 primary essentially is a toss-up between Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards.

In light of the Supreme Court decision this week in Kimbrough v. U.S. (pdf)authorizing federal judges to consider the great disparity in penalties for crack and powder cocaine offenses in deciding whether to sentence crack defendants below the federal sentencing guidelines ("...it would not be an abuse of discretion for a district court to conclude when sentencing a particular defendant that the crack/powder disparity yields a sentence “greater than necessary” to achieve §3553(a)’s purposes") and yesterday's decision by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to make retroactive the recent and relatively minor crack cocaine sentencing guideline reductions, I'm hoping the candidates will be asked their positions on mandatory minimum sentences and what they will do as President to change them.

I've put together a chronology of how the mandatory sentences came about and what efforts to change or resist changing them have been made since.

In light of yesterday's decision by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to make the reduction in federal sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine offenses retroactive, many are wondering just how these reductions will be effected.

The Sentencing Commission has answered this in part by modifying U.S.S.G. 1B1.10. Here's the new version. [Note: changed to user friendly link]