Olmert, declaring victory, appeals to Abbas for peace talks  —  Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, declaring an election victory, appealed to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas early Wednesday to enter into negotiations over the permanent borders of Israel, but added that Israel …

Bush Opposes Iraq's Premier, Shiites Report  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 28 — The American ambassador has told Shiite officials that President Bush does not want the Iraqi prime minister to remain the country's leader in the next government, senior Shiite politicians said Tuesday.

Democrats Pledge to 'Eliminate' Osama  —  WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats promise to "eliminate" Osama bin Laden and ensure a "responsible redeployment of U.S. forces" from Iraq in 2006 in an election-year national security policy statement.  —  In the position paper to be announced Wednesday …

Card's Departure Seen as a Sign President Hears Words of Critics  —  A few weeks ago, President Bush's spokesman dismissed talk of an impending staff change as "inside Washington babble."  —  White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr.'s resignation yesterday suggests that Bush was listening.

Tell Afghan court belief is no crime  —  Canadian troops have died in Afghanistan helping to oust the Taliban regime, to free 28 million people from tyranny and to restore democracy.  And 2,300 Canadian troops are now policing Kandahar, one of the most violence-torn regions of the country …

THE AMERICAN FLAG COMES SECOND  —  You will not see this heart-stopping photo on the front page of the NY Times or on the lead story of the major news networks.  You should (hat tip: Mika and F/R): … More:  —  Meanwhile: Mexico Cheers Passage of Immigration Bill  —  Like I said: Welcome to reconquista.

Judges on Secretive Panel Speak Out on Spy Program  —  WASHINGTON, March 28 — Five former judges on the nation's most secretive court, including one who resigned in apparent protest over President Bush's domestic eavesdropping, urged Congress on Tuesday to give the court a formal role in overseeing the surveillance program.

Redemption Among the Faithful  —  There are those who would say Tom DeLay lost his job as House majority leader because he was indicted by a Texas grand jury on charges of money laundering and conspiracy, or because of his extensive ties to lawbreaking lobbyist Jack Abramoff.  But they would be wrong.

Supreme Court Justices Question Law on Detainee Trials  —  WASHINGTON, March 28 — As the justices of the Supreme Court took their seats Tuesday morning to hear Osama bin Laden's former driver challenge the Bush administration's plan to try him before a military commission, one question …

Fitzgerald Will Seek New White House Indictments  —  It may seem as though it's been moving along at a snail's pace, but the second part of the federal investigation into the leak of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson is nearly complete, with attorneys and government officials …

Senate to Weigh Guest-Worker Proposal  —  With the Republican Party deeply divided, the Senate will take up a broad revision of the nation's immigration laws today amid signs that conservatives are ready to compromise on efforts to offer illegal immigrants new avenues to lawful employment.

New Orleans to Sell Flooded Buses on EBay  —  Starved for cash, the New Orleans school district is taking a long shot and hoping to sell its flooded, unsalvageable school buses on eBay.  —  Some submerged to their roofs in the black flood waters, the yellow school buses were widely photographed …

FBI AS GESTAPO: OPPRESSING THE KURDS OF HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA  —  The following is something that has not hit the media at all, other than a story in the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record that simply repeated FBI propaganda about this awful case.  Harrisonburg, Virginia happens …

Attempt to revive gay marriage ban fails in Senate … An attempt to revive a constitutional amendment that would prohibit same-sex marriage failed in the Maryland Senate today, apparently leaving no further options this year for opponents of gay marriage.  —  With a proposal to amend …

The Secret of George Mason  —  What its Final Four basketball team and its unusual economics department have in common.  —  Unlike his neighbors, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, founding father George Mason has rarely gotten his props from historians and the public.

Liberian Warlord Charles Taylor Arrested in Nigeria  —  FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, March 29 - A day after his evident escape, Nigerian police arrested former Liberian warlord and president Charles G. Taylor today as he tried to cross into Cameroon, according to Nigerian police officials.