Largest Iraq Air Assault Since '03 Begins  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — U.S. forces, joined by Iraqi troops, on Thursday launched the largest airborne assault since the U.S.-led invasion, targeting insurgent strongholds north of the capital, the military said.  —  The military said the operation …

Call for Censure Is Rallying Cry to Bush's Base  —  WASHINGTON, March 15 — Republicans, worried that their conservative base lacks motivation to turn out for the fall elections, have found a new rallying cry in the dreams of liberals about censuring or impeaching President Bush.

Report Backs Iraq Strike and Cites Iran Peril  —  WASHINGTON, March 15 — An updated version of the Bush administration's national security strategy, the first in more than three years, gives no ground on the decision to order a pre-emptive attack on Iraq in 2003, and identifies Iran …

House rejects spending for birth control  —  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - An attempt to resume state spending on birth control got shot down Wednesday by House members who argued it would have amounted to an endorsement of promiscuous lifestyles.  —  Missouri stopped providing money for family planning …

Supreme Court Justice Reveals Death Threats  —  WASHINGTON (March 16) - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she and former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor have been the targets of death threats from the "irrational fringe" of society, people apparently spurred by Republican criticism of the high court.

Researcher Will Face Charges in Steele Case  —  Federal prosecutors have decided to bring charges against a Democratic researcher accused of fraudulently obtaining a credit report on Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, now a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

First Declassified Iraq Documents Released  —  WASHINGTON — The Bush administration Wednesday night released the first declassified documents collected by U.S. intelligence during the Iraq war, showing among other things that Saddam Hussein's regime was monitoring reports that Iraqis and Saudis …

Hey, Big Spender  —  Should we have known that President Bush would bust the budget?  —  This week's column is a question, a brief one addressed with honest curiosity to Republicans.  It is: When George W. Bush first came on the scene in 2000, did you understand him to be a liberal in terms of spending?

Jessica snubs Bush, porn starlet doesn't  —  'Daisy Dukes' turns down meeting with president  —  at GOP fund-raiser, while Mary Carey still on board  —  WASHINGTON - One PG-13 star turned down a meeting with President Bush at a major Republican fund-raiser today, but a XXX-rated star …

GOP Seeks Curbs On '527' Groups  —  House Republican leaders proposed changes in lobbying laws yesterday that would include a crackdown on independent, big-money committees that heavily aided Democrats in the 2004 elections.  —  The proposed ethics package would increase the amount …

FEC raises the stakes for blog bill  —  The Federal Election Commission (FEC) yesterday postponed a controversial decision on subjecting Internet political speech to campaign-finance regulations, raising the stakes for today's scheduled House vote on a bill that exempts all blogs, Web ads and other online communications.

'Temporarily Relieved'  —  Yale suspends the anonymous emailer who blasted Taliban critics.  —  Yale University still isn't talking about why it admitted a former top Taliban official as a student, but yesterday the Yale Law School issued an apology to two alumni whom one of its officials …