Morning Buzz: Dec. 18, 2007

About 300 Turkish soldiers crossed the border into Iraq last night and remain there hunting for Kurdish rebels.  At the same time, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Kirkuk, also in the Kurdish portion of northern Iraq.

Late night TV's Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien have decided to come back on air without their joke writers, who have been on strike. The two NBC hosts will return January 2 with new episodes. O'Brien said he would continue to show his support for the writers. "Of course, my show will not be as good," he said in a statement. "In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible."

The Commerce Department has issued a depressing new report showing that housing construction in November dropped to a 16-year low for new single-family homes. The report also shows that applications for new building permits are at their lowest levels since 1993.

Two space station astronauts made history this morning by taking the 100th spacewalk from the orbiting station. Commander Peggy Whitson and Daniel Tani went on a fact-finding mission to inspect two defective mechanisms.