U.S. and Iranians Agree to Discuss Violence in Iraq  —  TEHRAN, March 16 — Iran and the United States agreed Thursday to hold direct talks on how to halt sectarian violence and restore calm in Iraq, offering the first face-to-face conversation between the sides after months of confrontation over Iran's nuclear program.

Declassified Truth  —  The War On Terror: The government is finally getting around to unloading some of Saddam Hussein's secret documents.  A look at just a few pages already leads to some blockbuster revelations.  —  In the early stages of the war that began three years ago …

U.S. Begins Big Assault in Iraq; New Parliament Convenes  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 16 — The American military announced today that it had begun its largest air assault since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, while Iraqi legislators convened the long-awaited first session of the new Parliament in the capital …

Congress Raises Ceiling for Borrowing  —  $100 Billion Is Spent Without Offsetting Cuts  —  Congress raised the limit on the federal government's borrowing by $781 billion yesterday, and then lawmakers voted to spend well over $100 billion on the war in Iraq, hurricane relief, education …

Airline screeners fail government bomb tests  —  21 airports nationwide don't detect bomb-making materials … WASHINGTON -  —  Lisa Myers  —  Imagine an explosion strong enough to blow a car's trunk apart, caused by a bomb inside a passenger plane.  Government sources tell NBC News …

GOP Irritation At Bush Was Long Brewing  —  President Bush's troubles with congressional Republicans, which erupted during the backlash to the Dubai seaport deal, are rooted in policy frustrations and personal resentments that GOP lawmakers say stretch back to the opening days of the administration.

AFA's Wildmon proposed a hypothetical tour of gay bathhouses, repeated misinformation on average gay incomes … On the March 8 edition of the AFA Report, Donald E. Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association (AFA), responded to the Equality Ride, a seven-week bus tour …

Operation Another Last Throe  —  First let me say that I am truly embarassed by the number of progressive, liberal, lefty and Dem bloggers who don't know the difference between an air assault and an air strike.  The first is a way of getting soldiers to a target, the second is a way of getting bombs and missiles to that same target.

Democracy Push by Bush Attracts Doubters in Party  —  Even as it presents an updated national security strategy, the Bush administration is facing fresh doubts from some Republicans who say its emphasis on promoting democracy around the world has come at the expense of protecting other American interests.

Once same-sex marriage is OK, polygamy's next  —  The Minnesota Legislature is considering proposing a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.  Many opponents claim that definition is antiquated and discriminatory.

Saddam Hussein maintained pretense of chemical arms to prevent Israeli attack  —  WASHINGTON - Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein pretended to have chemical weapons because, among other reasons, he feared that Israel might attack if it discovered he did not.

For a crazy idea, it sure has a lot of support  —  When Republicans began criticizing Sen. Russ Feingold's censure resolution, one of their principal talking points was the notion that a formal rebuke for Bush over wireless searches was, well, nuts.  Common descriptions included words like "extreme" and "over the top."

Police Memos Say Arrest Tactics Calmed Protest  —  In five internal reports made public yesterday as part of a lawsuit, New York City police commanders candidly discuss how they had successfully used "proactive arrests," covert surveillance and psychological tactics at political demonstrations in 2002 …

Kurds Destroy Shrine in Rage at Leadership  —  HALABJA, Iraq, March 16 — For nearly two decades, Kurds have gathered peacefully in this mountainous corner of northern Iraq to commemorate one of the blackest days in their history.  It was here that Saddam Hussein's government launched …

Can Democrats Play This Game?  —  Russ Feingold tossed a political grenade at President Bush this week, but it fell into the middle of the Senate Democratic Caucus.  Many Democratic senators ran away.  —  The grenade was the Wisconsin senator's proposal to censure the president for violating …