Iraq War Voted Top News Story of 2006 , followed by the election

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The convoluted, increasingly costly war in Iraq was chosen the top story of 2006 by U.S. editors and news directors in The Associated Press' annual vote, followed closely by the U.S. election in which debate over Iraq played a pivotal role.

The war received 176 first-place votes out of 242 ballots cast. The election, in which Democrats seized control of Congress, received 46 first-place votes and was the overwhelming pick for the No. 2 story.

Last year's top story was Hurricane Katrina and the other devastating Gulf Coast storms. The Iraq war finished third in that poll, was runner-up in 2004 and the No. 1 story in 2003, while the buildup to the war was 2002's top story.

Here are 2006's top 10 stories, as voted by AP members. There was a tie for seventh place:

1. IRAQ: What started in 2003 as a supposedly straightforward drive to topple Saddam Hussein deteriorated during 2006 into a dismayingly complex and savage struggle, with Iraqis by the thousands killed in sectarian reprisal attacks and the U.S. military death toll nearing 3,000. President Bush dropped talk of ``staying the course'' but balked at embracing many of the key suggestions of a bipartisan study group; Iraqi authorities struggled to assert control and avoid fracture.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6293698,00.html