Senior White House Staff May Be Wearing Down  —  Andrew H. Card Jr. wakes at 4:20 in the morning, shows up at the White House an hour or so later, convenes his senior staff at 7:30 and then proceeds to a blur of other meetings that do not let up until long after the sun sets.

Death squads operated from inside Iraqi government, officials say  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Senior Iraqi officials Sunday confirmed for the first time that death squads composed of government employees had operated illegally from inside two government ministries.  —  "The deaths squads …

Tal Afar: Al Qaeda's Town  —  (CBS) This is a story about an entire city that was taken over by al Qaeda.  It's called Tal Afar and about 200,000 people who live there became prisoners in their own homes when terrorists took control and turned it into their town.

You've Got Mail (It's From Yale)  —  A university official calls Taliban critics "retarded" while the university maintains a stony silence.  —  The two most dysfunctional management cultures I know of right now are the Bush White House and Yale University.

U.S. Campaign Is Aimed at Iran's Leaders  —  Uneasy About Tehran's Nuclear Plans, Bush Administration Tries to Build Opposition to Theocracy  —  As the dispute over its nuclear program arrives at the U.N. Security Council today, Iran has vaulted to the front of the U.S. national security …

Newspaper Chain Agrees to a Sale for $4.5 Billion  —  Knight Ridder, the second-largest newspaper company in the United States, agreed last night to sell itself for about $4.5 billion in cash and stock to the McClatchy Company, a publisher half its size, according to people involved in the negotiations.

At Republican Conference, the Future Is Now  —  MEMPHIS, March 11 — That's funny.  We could have sworn the last presidential campaign just ended.  It couldn't have been, what, more than a year, year and a half ago that George W. Bush was getting re-inaugurated and was so flush with political capital …

Islamic websites carry al-Qaida's 'last warning'  —  Threat of 2 operations designed to bring Americans 'to your knees'  —  WASHINGTON - Islamic websites yesterday posted a "last warning" warning by Rakan Ben Williams, who describes himself as an "al-Qaida undercover soldier" in the U.S. …

The GOP's Abortion Anxiety  —  The pro-life movement is on a roll.  So why are the Republican Party's top guns suddenly so shy on the subject?  —  March 20, 2006 issue - When South Dakota approved a law sharply restricting abortion last week, many pro-life Republicans around the country sounded a loud hallelujah.

POINTLESS PROGNOSTICATION....'Tis the weekend, apparently, for spouting off about who the eventual GOP nominee will be in 2008.  I usually try to abstain from this things, mostly because: a) I don't know, and b) I don't think anyone else knows.  Still, the idea that "Huckabee, Hagel, Brownback, and Graham" (Graham?

Transcript for March 12  —  MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: What should we do about Iraq?  What should we do about Iran?  And how has the port controversy affected the Bush presidency.  With us: Two men who would like to be the next president of the United States.

Action Steps for the Feingold "Censure Bush" Proposal  —  I have a request: Russ Feingold really stuck his neck out today, and it would be great if he — and every other Senator — knew that we had his back.  It's a gutsy move, not without risk in the polarized environment that is Washington …

Dash to Baghdad Left Top U.S. Generals Divided  —  The war was barely a week old when Gen. Tommy R. Franks threatened to fire the Army's field commander.  —  From the first days of the invasion in March 2003, American forces had tangled with fanatical Saddam Fedayeen paramilitary fighters.

Harris to make 'major announcement'  —  Reports of illegal contributions dog Senate candidacy.  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Katherine Harris fueled already rampant speculation about the status of her campaign for the U.S. Senate when she released a statement Saturday promising a "major announcement" about her future this week.

UK: Islamic Law Is On The Horizon  —  The UK Telegraph had an interesting article by Dr Patrick Sookhedo (pictured, left), which was originally published on February 19.  For some mysterious reason, this article was recently withdrawn from its archives "for legal reasons."

A Bush Alarm: Urging U.S. to Shun Isolationism  —  WASHINGTON, March 12 — The president who made pre-emption and going it alone the watchwords of his first term is quietly turning in a new direction, warning at every opportunity of the dangers of turning the nation inward and isolationist …

Bush to defend policies on Iraq  —  President George W Bush renews his push for the hearts and minds of the American people on Monday with the first in a new series of speeches designed to convince a sceptical public that the US has a coherent strategy to win the war in Iraq.

CNN RELIABLE SOURCES  —  Has Bush Administration Declared War on Media?  ; San Francisco Reporters Document Bonds' Steroid Use; Interview with Dave Barry  —  THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.  —  HOWARD KURTZ, HOST (voice over): Tightening the screws.