Good morning, Capitolists! So sorry to be tardy to the party this morning, but information delayed is not information denied. Here are today's top scoops from Washington, all bundled for your reading pleasure in the next 60 seconds:

* Senator Rudy? Although Rudy Giuliani announced this week that he will not run for New York governor, Politics Daily has learned that GOP officials are pushing Rudy to challenge Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for the seat once held by Hillary Clinton. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), the Republicans' top recruiter, said Thursday that top Republicans are "absolutely" urging the Giuliani to run in 2010 and that several GOP leaders are trying to convince him to get in the race. No word from the Giuliani camp on the ex-mayor's plans, though.

* Reid's Saturday High-Wire Act. Sen. Harry Reid has scheduled the first of several do-or-die votes on health care for 8 o'clock Saturday night. Reid needs 60 votes to start debating the bill, and guess what? Nobody, including Reid, knows if he has them. Stay tuned, Capitolists!

* The Story Everyone's Talking About. Days after word came that annual mammograms can wait until women reach age 50, another report says young women can wait until 21, rather than 18, for their first screening for cervical cancer. The doctor in charge insists there's no conspiracy to reduce women's access to cancer screenings, telling the New York Times that the timing of the announcements is "crazy, uncanny and an unfortunate perfect storm." He added, "There's no political agenda with regard to these recommendations."

* Take Your President to School Day. President Obama is back in the states and presumably recovering from jet lag and poor reviews of his trip to Asia. He has no events scheduled today but did go to daughter Sasha's school this morning for what White House aides only called "a school event."

* Santa Silenced by USPS. The U.S. Postal Service has stopped its popular Operation Santa program, where Alaska residents volunteer to write back to children who send letters to Santa at the North Pole (actually, the small town of the same name). USPS stopped the tradition when a registered sex offender volunteered to write letters. The agency only recently informed the volunteers. The Washington Times quotes North Pole Mayor Doug Isaacson as saying, "It's Grinch-like that the Postal Service never informed all the little elves before the fact."

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