Senate Passes Legislation to Renew Patriot Act  —  WASHINGTON, March 2 — The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation renewing the sweeping antiterror law known as the USA Patriot Act on Thursday, ending a months-long impasse on Capitol Hill and virtually guaranteeing that the measure will go to President Bush to be signed.

New Video Shows Blanco Saying Levees Safe  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — In the hectic, confused hours after Hurricane Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast, Louisiana's governor hesitantly but mistakenly assured the Bush administration that New Orleans' protective levees were intact, according to a new video obtained …

Oscars for Osama  —  Nothing tells you more about Hollywood than what it chooses to honor.  Nominated for best foreign-language film is "Paradise Now," a sympathetic portrayal of two suicide bombers.  Nominated for best picture is "Munich," a sympathetic portrayal of yesterday's fashion in barbarism: homicide terrorism.

"The Head of the Snake"  —  SULEIMANIYA, IRAQ - Suleimaniya is the most liberal city in Iraqi Kurdistan, partly because of its long-standing and deep ties to nearby Iran, one of the most culturally liberal countries in the Middle East.  The Iraqi Kurds I met who have been to Iran wanted me to know …

Bush and India Reach Pact That Allows Nuclear Sales  —  NEW DELHI, March 2 — President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India announced here on Thursday what Mr. Bush called a "historic" nuclear pact that would help India satisfy its enormous civilian energy needs while allowing it to continue to develop nuclear weapons.

U.S. Cites Exception in Torture Ban  —  McCain Law May Not Apply to Cuba Prison  —  Bush administration lawyers, fighting a claim of torture by a Guantanamo Bay detainee, yesterday argued that the new law that bans cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees in U.S. custody does not apply to people held at the military prison.

Oscar nominee: People hate Israelis for a reason  —  Hany Abu-Assad, Israeli-born director of Oscar-nominated film 'Paradise Now,' which has stirred controversy for its depiction of two young Palestinian suicide bombers, says in interview with Yedioth Ahronoth terror derives from another terror …

Ethics Office For Hill Rejected  —  Bipartisan Defeat For Independent Lobbying Overseer  —  A Senate committee yesterday rejected a bipartisan proposal to establish an independent office to oversee the enforcement of congressional ethics and lobbying laws, signaling a reluctance in Congress …

U.S. Intel: Qaeda Plotting 'Big Bang'  —  (CBS/AP) U.S. officials tell CBS News that intelligence has picked up reports that al Qaeda in Iraq is planning what one source calls the "Big Bang," a spectacular terrorist attack in Iraq against either a single high-profile target or multiple targets simultaneously.

Antarctic Ice Sheet Is Melting Rapidly  —  The Antarctic ice sheet is losing as much as 36 cubic miles of ice a year in a trend that scientists link to global warming, according to a new paper that provides the first evidence that the sheet's total mass is shrinking significantly.

Poll Finds Americans Overwhelmingly Disapprove of Port Deal  —  WASHINGTON — Americans, by a greater than 3 to 1 margin, oppose the proposed deal that would allow a state-owned Arab firm to assume control of operations at several U.S. ports, a Times/Bloomberg poll has found.

Italian Panel: Soviets Behind Pope Attack  —  An Italian parliamentary commission concluded "beyond any reasonable doubt" that the Soviet Union was behind the 1981 attempt to kill Pope John Paul II _ a theory long alleged but never proved, according to a draft report made available Thursday.

Clinton Challenger Pulled From Reagan-Era Hat  —  It was supposed to be a marquee Republican campaign of the 2006 elections — a fusillade-style effort to defeat Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, which, even if it did not succeed, would excite donors nationally, raise millions for the party …

Harper's Publishes AIDS Denialist  —  The latest issue of Harper's Magazine contains a stunning 15-page article by well-known AIDS denialist Celia Farber (formerly of Spin magazine) that extensively repeats UC Berkeley virologist Peter Duesberg's discredited theory that HIV does not cause AIDS.