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 …

North American opinion Research Inc. replies to Vcrisis  —  Julio Makarem and Ricardo Valbuena have published today a two page communiqué in Venezuela's most read newspaper Ultimas Noticias (see below).  In it they accuse me, among other things, of being part, together with Gustavo Coronel …

$25,000 to Lobby Group Is Tied to Access to Bush  —  WASHINGTON, March 9 — The chief of an Indian tribe represented by the lobbyist Jack Abramoff was admitted to a meeting with President Bush in 2001 days after the tribe paid a prominent conservative lobbying group $25,000 at Mr. Abramoff's direction …

In an Election Year, GOP Wary of Following Bush  —  When President Bush and senior adviser Karl Rove mapped out plans for a political comeback in 2006, this was nowhere on the script.  Suddenly, the collapse of a port-management deal neither even knew about a month ago has devastated …

South Dakota's Top Paper Refuses To Editorialize On Abortion Ban  —  NEW YORK Although the biggest abortion rights story in 33 years is taking place in its own backyard, South Dakota's largest newspaper will not editorialize on the controversial statewide abortion ban just recently approved by its legislature.

Kos/Krempasky to Congress: Pass HR 1606  —  Markos and I have sent a letter to every Member of the House this morning - urging them to pass HR 1606 as soon as possible.  While there is a promising proposal from the Center for Democracy & Technology floating about - it's imperative …

REWRITING VERY RECENT HISTORY  —  This is basically a dog-bites-man story; the Washington Post reports on its poll showing that a growing number of Americans express disapproval of Islam, and a majority now say there are more violent extremists among Muslims than other religions.

Woman sues for alleged firing over talk show bumper sticker  —  VISTA —  A San Diego County woman is suing her former employer, accusing her manager of firing her on the spot when she saw the woman's car had a bumper sticker advertising a progressive talk radio station.

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 …

No room at the inn for New Orleans dog search team  —  NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) — One of three canine search-and-rescue teams trained to look for bodies left by Hurricane Katrina plans to leave New Orleans after just a few days on the job, because there won't be a hotel room to stay in, the men said Wednesday.

Zarqawi Was Here  —  BIARA, IRAQ - The PUK's Minister of the Interior ordered 20 heavily armed Peshmerga soldiers to go with me to the borderland mountain village of Biara.  For years the village was occupied by Ansar Al Islam, the Kurdish-Arab-Persian branch of Al Qaeda in Northern Iraq.

Men v. Roe  —  Toast passed on this BBC article with the note, "Wow.  The National Center for Men... It'd be funny if it weren't so, you know, not funny."  And then I saw this AP article, on the same subject, which is a lawsuit prepared by The National Center for Men to challenge the issue of male reproductive rights.

World box office dipped 7.9 pct to 23 billion dollars last year : study  —  Hollywood movie ticket sales around the world dropped by 7.9 percent last year to 23 billion dollars, with the US box office accounting for nearly 40 percent of the haul, a study showed.

Thieves hit Democrats' office  —  Lee County's Democratic headquarters had its second break-in in almost as many years this week.  —  Thieves ignored computer equipment and other valuables, and took the party's financial records and voter data, said Lyndia Bradley, Lee County's Democratic chairwoman.