Dubai Port Company to Divest Itself of American Holdings  —  The United Arab Emirates company that was attempting to take over management operations at six U.S. ports announced today that it will divest itself of all American interests.  —  The announcement appears to head off a major confrontation …

Senator Resumes Lobbyist Huddles  —  After saying in January that he would end his regular meetings with lobbyists, Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.), the third-ranking GOP leader in the Senate, has continued to meet with many of the same lobbyists at the same time and on the same day of the week.

Iran Is Building A Nuclear Weapon  —  A Nuclear Composition based on one of my favorite El Greco's "An Allegory with a 'Believer' Lighting a Candle in the Company of an Ape and a Fool (Fábula)" ca.  1589-92; National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh  —  For some months now …

Boy in a Bubble  —  What George Clooney doesn't know about life.  —  Memo to: The Academy  —  From: Just another viewer  —  Re: Advice, as if you wanted more  —  I cannot remember a time when, in the days after the Academy Awards show, it was not criticized, and even blasted.

BLOGS: Health Wonk Review  —  Welcome to Health Wonk Review.  Joe expected some crack about English soccer fans, but I'm all depressed since the Catalans ejected my boys with barely a whimper from the European Champions League we were supposed to win on Tuesday.  —  So onto the review.

Official Says Shiite Party Suppressed Body Count  —  BAGHDAD, March 8 — Days after the bombing of a Shiite shrine unleashed a wave of retaliatory killings of Sunnis, the leading Shiite party in Iraq's governing coalition directed the Health Ministry to stop tabulating execution-style shootings …

Vanity Fair: Bush Had Ties to Abramoff  —  WASHINGTON - Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff says President Bush knew him well enough to joke with him about weightlifting.  "What are you benching, buff guy?"  Abramoff said Bush asked him.  The president has said he doesn't know Abramoff.

Negative Perception Of Islam Increasing  —  Poll Numbers in U.S. Higher Than in 2001  —  As the war in Iraq grinds into its fourth year, a growing proportion of Americans are expressing unfavorable views of Islam, and a majority now say that Muslims are disproportionately prone to violence …

Faith Hill, Tim McGraw Blast 'Humiliating' Katrina Cleanup  —  Country Stars Lash Out in Anger Over Conditions in Storm-Ravaged States  —  March, 8, 2006 — Faith Hill and Tim McGraw — two stars who usually stay out of politics — blasted the Hurricane Katrina cleanup effort …

Bush: Congress 'Shortchanged' New Orleans  —  Touring Gulf Coast, President Calls for Restoration of $1.5 Billion for Levee Repairs  —  NEW ORLEANS, March 8 — President Bush, on a Gulf Coast inspection tour that included his first visit to this city's storm-shattered Lower Ninth Ward …

The Three Stooges  —  Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Howard Dean.  —  According to the latest CBS News poll, George W. Bush's approval rating hit a personal worst of 34 percent in February, making him the most unpopular president since Nixon during Watergate.

Report posits that Chris Matthews has accepted hefty speaking fees from conservative groups  —  A new report advanced to RAW STORY Thursday suggests that Chris Matthews, the star of the Sunday talk show circuit's Hardball, has accepted hefty speaking fees from an array of conservative trade associations.

Justice Dept. Report Cites F.B.I. Violations  —  WASHINGTON, March 8 — The Federal Bureau of Investigation found apparent violations of its own wiretapping and other intelligence-gathering procedures more than 100 times in the last two years, and problems appear to have grown more frequent …