Bill Frist threatens to re-structure the Intelligence Committee in order to block NSA hearings  —  (updated below - updated again)  —  The Senate Intelligence Committee was created in 1976 and, from the beginning, it has been unique in its structure and operation.

Blair under fire for evoking God in Iraq war decision  —  LONDON (AFP) - Tony Blair triggered strong reactions from parents of soldiers killed in Iraq and the political opposition, after the British prime minister evoked God in his decision to go to war.  —  Details emerged Friday …

Aide's role in mosque deal eyed  —  BRA official raised funds, priced land  —  A top Boston Redevelopment Authority official who previously downplayed his role in the Roxbury mosque project of the Islamic Society of Boston assisted in the city's reduction of the price the mosque backers paid …

Bush Says Pakistan Cannot Expect Nuclear Deal Like One With India  —  ISLAMABAD, March 4 — President Bush made clear today that Pakistan should not expect anytime soon a civilian nuclear agreement like the one the United States reached only days ago with India, and he bluntly …

2005 Koufax Awards — The Polls Are Open  —  It is time to vote.  Before doing so, please allow me to make a short comment about the awards and explain the procedure.  —  First, the comment.  From our point of view, the important work of the awards is mostly complete.

Pomp and punch-ups in Belarus  —  Being in Minsk this week is like being back in the USSR.  —  At the giant Palace of the Republic, 2,500 delegates are attending a lavish Soviet-style congress.  —  Among them are tractor drivers and priests, factory directors and soldiers.

Bush Plan Would Raise Deficit by $1.2 Trillion, Budget Office Says  —  WASHINGTON, March 3 — President Bush's budget would increase the federal deficit by $35 billion this year and by more than $1.2 trillion over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office reported on Friday.

E-mails undermine Reed claim  —  Ralph Reed has said he didn't know it until last year, but emails suggest he was informed that eLot — a firm then in the online lottery business — was behind his effort to fend off a ban against internet gambling in 2000.  —  The e-mails passed between Reed …

U.S. commander says Iraqi 'crisis has passed'  —  The top U.S. commander in Iraq yesterday declared an end to a 10-day wave of sectarian violence that killed an estimated 350 civilians, asserting that many reports of violence were "exaggerated."  —  "It appears that the crisis has passed …

Calling All Hombres  —  A Harvard sage makes the case for manliness.  —  CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—"Defend yourself."  That's the lesson Harvey Mansfield drew for Larry Summers the week before Harvard's president was forced to resign.  Mr. Mansfield, a 73-year-old government professor …

Chavez prepares his people's army to confront US  —  Venezuela begins training a vast army of civilian reserves today to fight off the attack its Left-wing president, Hugo Chavez, says the United States is plotting against it.  —  The oil-rich state aims to teach up to two million volunteers …

Caught on Tape  —  ON THE DAY before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, federal emergency officials warned President Bush that the hurricane could be "the big one," the storm the region had long feared; that the Superdome, the shelter of last resort in New Orleans, was below sea level …