Court refuses to hear Padilla appeal  —  The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the appeal of Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held in a military jail for more than three years as an "enemy combatant."  The Court, however, declined to dismiss the case as moot, as the Bush Administration had urged.

Carroll Reunites With Family  —  After 82 Days as a Hostage in Iraq, Freed Journalist Is Home  —  BOSTON, April 2 — Journalist Jill Carroll was back on U.S. soil Sunday, tearfully embracing her parents and twin sister after 82 days as a hostage in Iraq that she said gave her a deep appreciation for the myriad simple joys of freedom.

Ivory Tower Stonewall  —  A 9/11 survivor asks Yale to explain why it admitted the Taliban Man.  —  Katherine Bailey and her sister, Margaret Pothier, have a bone to pick with Yale President Richard Levin over his university's admission of a former Taliban official as a student.

Frist Is Treading a Perilous Path Leading to 2008  —  WASHINGTON, April 2 — History does not bode well for Bill Frist, and he knows it.  —  "Coming into this job, everybody said if you, in your future, ever want to consider running for president of the United States, people said, 'Do not do it …

White House shake-up to continue?  —  Sources: Press spokesman, treasury chief may be next  —  CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) — Presidential press secretary Scott McClellan and Treasury Secretary John Snow could be next in a shake-up in the Bush administration, according to White House and GOP sources.

Iraq's Premier Is Asked to Quit as Shiites Split  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 2 — Iraq's dominant Shiite political bloc fractured Sunday when its most powerful faction publicly demanded that the incumbent Shiite prime minister resign over his inability to form a unified government.

U.S. Plan to Build Iraq Clinics Falters  —  Contractor Will Try to Finish 20 of 142 Sites  —  BAGHDAD — A reconstruction contract for the building of 142 primary health centers across Iraq is running out of money, after two years and roughly $200 million, with no more than 20 clinics …

Cynthia McKinney: The New Face of the Left?  —  Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia made news last week when she allegedly, as WXIA-TV in Atlanta reported, "punched a Capitol police officer on Wednesday afternoon after he mistakenly pursued her for failing to pass through a metal detector."

WHAT'S THE PLAN?....Glenn Reynolds suggests today that George Bush's difficulties are not so much with the people who were fair weather supporters of the war from the start, but rather with the people who were its most fervent fans: … Like most slogan-driven hawks, however …

Right-wing Racism and the Moderate Voice  —  There's a discussion over at The Moderate Voice about whether the Jill Carroll affair damages the credibility of bloggers.  I find this discussion irritating, because it cuts to a basic problem with the nonpartisan new media blog pontificators …

Prosecution of Midwife Casts Light on Home Births  —  BLOOMINGTON, Ind., March 29 — Angela Hendrix-Petry gave birth to her daughter Chloe by candlelight in her bedroom here in the early morning of March 12, with a thunderstorm raging outside and her family and midwife huddled around her.

Iran Says It Test-Fired Underwater Missile  —  TEHRAN, April 2 — Iran said Sunday that it had test-fired what it described as a sonar-evading underwater missile just two days after it announced that it had fired a new missile that could carry multiple warheads and evade radar systems.

Some homeowners struggle to keep up with adjustable rates  —  For 45 years, Robert and Lorraine Brown have lived in their ranch-style home in Florissant, Mo. One of their four children was even born there.  But for the past eight months, the couple have been locked in a sleep-wrecking race to keep up with their rising mortgage bills.

LAURA BUSH SAYS HILLARY KEPT BAD HOUSE; WEST WING DECORATIONS WERE GAUDY, OUTDATED  —  First Lady Laura Bush believes Hillary Clinton did not keep good house during her time as first lady, a new book will charge.  —  Ron Kessler, a former investigative reporter for the WASHINGTON POST …

A Dark Day Revisited  —  Five years later, Hollywood is betting that America is ready for films about what happened on 9/11.  Are we?  —  April 10, 2006 issue - If movie trailers are supposed to cause a reaction, the preview for "United 93" more than succeeds.