American Hostage Jill Carroll Free (Updated)  —  American journalist Jill Carroll has been freed by her captors.  This post will be updated throughout the day.  Scroll through for updates.  —  Jill Carroll had been held hostage for nearly three months by a terrorist organization calling itself 'The Revenge Brigades'.

What the FISA judges really said  —  By Anonymous Liberal  —  (updated below)  —  Yesterday the Washington Times published an article with the headline: "FISA judges say Bush within law."  The article, by Brian DeBose, reported: … Bush's defenders wasted no time jumping to the conclusion …

Photographer: Herald got it right  —  Amid a growing national controversy about the gesture U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made Sunday at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the freelance photographer who captured the moment has come forward with the picture.

Senate Approves Lobbying Limits by Wide Margin  —  WASHINGTON, March 29 — The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed the first major restrictions on lobbying in more than a decade, banning lobbyists from giving gifts and meals to lawmakers and tightening rules for pet projects known as earmarks.

Iran Defiantly Rejects New U.N. Demands  —  BERLIN (AP) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran on Thursday the "international community is united" in the dispute over its nuclear program, but a Tehran envoy defiantly rejected a U.N. call to reimpose a freeze on uranium enrichment.

Congressional Candidate Slams Press Coverage of Iraq—With Bogus Photo  —  NEW YORK How far will critics of media coverage of the Iraq war go to prove reporters are wrongly focusing on the negative?  —  One answer came this week, in a shocking if amusing episode featuring one Howard Kaloogian …

This is about war and democracy  —  In 1968, there was one overriding issue in America, and that was the war in Vietnam.  America had what was known as "the peace movement."  I am one who was a small part of it - teach-ins, marches, vigils, and politics.  —  Our president lied to us about that war.

Insulating Bush  —  Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, cautioned other White House aides in the summer of 2003 that Bush's 2004 re-election prospects would be severely damaged if it was publicly disclosed that he had been personally warned that a key rationale for going to war …

DEMOCRACY CRUMBLING: New Electronic Voter Registration Database Rejects 43% of New Los Angeles Voter Applications!  26% Rejected State-Wide in California!  —  Applications That Don't Match EXACTLY With DMV Records are Automatically Dumped by New System!  —  California's League …

The Left and Right Agree: Plagiarism is Bad  —  The dust is settling now on l'affaire Ben Domenech at the WashingtonPost website, wherein an aggressive, undertalented, arch-Conservative young writer was hired to helm WaPo's first right-wing blog, presumably to counter the so-called liberal tendencies …

Ryun's Explanation Raises More Questions  —  So the AP picked up our story on Rep. Jim Ryun's (R-KS) townhouse deal.  Let's look at what he came up with in his statement - he refused to be interviewed about it.  There are some gaping holes in his story.  —  To repeat the facts …

Borders, Waldenbooks Won't Carry Magazine  —  Borders and Waldenbooks stores will not stock the April-May issue of Free Inquiry magazine because it contains cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that provoked deadly protests among Muslims in several countries.  —  "For us, the safety and security …

Senate GOP Fears Frist's Ambitions Split Party  —  By pushing his way to the front of the volatile debate over immigration, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has reignited complaints that his presidential ambitions conflict with his leadership duties at times and put him at odds with his GOP caucus.

G.O.P. Risking Hispanic Votes on Immigration  —  WASHINGTON, March 29 — The battle among Republicans over immigration policy and border security is threatening to undercut a decade-long effort by President Bush and his party to court Hispanic voters, just as both parties are gearing up for the 2006 elections.

Guard the Borders — And Face Facts, Too  —  America, the only developed nation that shares a long — 2,000-mile — border with a Third World nation, could seal that border.  East Germany showed how: walls, barbed wire, machine gun-toting border guards in towers, mine fields, large, irritable dogs.

Canada cuts ties to Palestinian Authority  —  OTTAWA — Canada has become the first country after Israel to cut funding and diplomatic ties to the Palestinian Authority over the new Hamas government's refusal to renounce violence.  —  The Conservatives say they will still offer humanitarian aid …

O.K., Knockoffs, This Is War  —  FOR readers of Marie Claire, one of its most popular monthly features is Splurge vs. Steal, a column that shows an expensive runway look next to a knockoff costing a fraction of the price.  But within the fashion trade the magazine column is roundly disliked …

Western Standard sued for publishing cartoons  —  Earlier this month, the Western Standard was sued in human rights court for publishing the Danish cartoons.  It's been ten years since I've graduated from law school, and I've never seen a more frivolous, vexatious, infantile suit than this.

Patriots, Then and Now  —  With nations as with people, love them or lose them.  —  I had a great experience the other night.  I met some of the 114 living recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award.  It was at their annual dinner, held, as it has been the past four years, at the New York Stock Exchange.