A high-stakes gamble for Obama

Will Americans support sending thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan if President Barack Obama makes the consequences of losing clear? That's what the president is betting as his approval rating dips below 50 percent. He's expected to make his case in a prime-time address Tuesday. Obama said last week that destroying al-Qaida and its allies remains vital to our security. Will war-weary Americans (read: voters) agree?

Tiger tales

Three times now, Florida state troopers have invited Tiger Woods to sit down for a chat, and three times now, the world's top golfer has declined. On Sunday, he put a statement on his Web site saying that Friday's early morning crash was "embarrassing"; that his wife, Elin, acted "courageously"; and that anything else you may have heard - in, say, The National Enquirer - is nothing but "malicious rumors." And oh, yes: It's a private matter, so please leave him alone. More on Page 2A.

Here we come a-caroling ...

The end of November means the official start of Christmas-music season, with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at Raleigh's RBC Center on Wednesday, and, in a quirkier vein, holiday music with Los Straitjackets and El Vez the same night at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro.

For all carols all the time, tune in to WRAL-FM 101.5 or WRDU-FM 106.1. How soon will it be before you're tearing your hair out over yet one more lame chorus of "Let It Snow" or "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer?"

Parades and more

If you're a purist and Raleigh's pre-Thanksgiving Christmas parade came too early for your liking, head to downtown Durham on Saturday.

The Bull City's holiday parade steps off at 4 p.m. at Jackie Robinson and Blackwell streets near the AmericanTobacco District.

Local blues legends John Dee Holeman and Cool John Ferguson will be the grand marshals. Early birds can watch a pre-parade show from 3 to 4 p.m. at the CCB Plaza, 201 Corcoran St., where a tree-lighting is scheduled at 5:30 p.m.

Can't wait until Saturday? At 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, WRAL-TV continues a half-century-old tradition, lighting its 300-foot transmission tower at 2619 Western Blvd. in Raleigh.

Hot stuff in Rose Hill

Here's a holiday happening with real sizzle: A cookout on one of the world's largest frying pans Saturday morning in Rose Hill, 85 miles southeast of Raleigh. Volunteers will fire up a portion of the 15-foot, 4,000-pound pan's 40 gas burners at 10 a.m. for a chicken fry. A Christmas parade follows at 11.

Oh, by the way, if the aromas wear you down, don't fret about the fat in that fried chicken.

Organizers assure us they're using zero-trans-fat, hexane-free cooking oil. (Doesn't that just sound delish?)

At the water cooler

What will the education landscape look like from the other side when school-board-critics-turned-school-board-members take office in Wake County on Tuesday?

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