Bush Declares Full Support for Rumsfeld  —  WASHINGTON, April 14 — President Bush strongly defended Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld today, despite calls from retired generals that he step down, and said Mr. Rumsfeld's leadership is vital for the United States.

Iran Leader: Israel Will Be Annihilated  —  The president of Iran again lashed out at Israel on Friday and said it was "heading toward annihilation," just days after Tehran raised fears about its nuclear activities by saying it successfully enriched uranium for the first time.

Cheney Authorized Leak Of CIA Report, Libby Says  —  Vice President Dick Cheney directed his then-chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on July 12, 2003 to leak to the media portions of a then-highly classified CIA report that Cheney hoped would undermine the credibility …

Saving A Piece Of History … How do miracles happen?  Sometimes, it takes a bolt from the blue to bring them to life: … Long after the Viet Nam war ended, Jim Mayer's tradition lived on.  Strangely enough, the dream-come-true for so many wounded vets today at Fran O'Brien's started with something of a dream all those years ago:

OSU librarian slapped with "sexual harassment" charge for recommending conservative books for freshmen  —  Ohio State University will press forward with frivolous investigation despite ADF letter  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio — Officials at the Ohio State University are investigating an OSU Mansfield librarian for …

Zarqawi, al Qaeda are heading out, U.S. general says  —  Al Qaeda in Iraq and its presumed leader, Abu Musab Zarqawi, have conceded strategic defeat and are on their way out of the country, a top U.S. military official contended yesterday.  —  The group's failure to disrupt national elections …

Whites Take Flight on Election Day  —  Bad news for Michael S. Steele, the leading Maryland Republican candidate for Senate in November: The scuttling noise he hears on Election Day could be the sound of tens of thousands of white Republicans crossing over to vote for the Democrat.

Exxon Chairman Gets $400 Million Retirement Package Amid Soaring Gas Prices  —  Exxon Made Record Profits in 2005  —  April 14, 2006— Soaring gas prices are squeezing most Americans at the pump, but at least one man isn't complaining.  —  Last year, Exxon made the biggest profit of any company ever …

'Catch immigrant' game raises an outcry at PSU  —  The College Republicans at Penn State University wanted to enter the debate about the nation's borders by playing a "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Game."  —  People would be invited to "catch" group members wearing orange shirts symbolizing illegal aliens.

Republicans plan anti-Reid ads on Spanish-language radio  —  LAS VEGAS (AP) - Ads criticizing Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid for "playing politics" with immigration reform legislation are scheduled to air on Spanish-language radio stations in four Western cities with large Hispanic populations next week.

Hiltzik's Defense of His Immigration Column Doesn't Square with the Facts  —  As promised, here is my more comprehensive takedown of L.A. Times columnist Michael Hiltzik's latest broadside against me.  (My previous, smaller-scale rebuttal is here.)  —  Warning: this post is long.

Appeals Court Slaps L.A. Over Arrests of Homeless  —  Los Angeles' policy of arresting homeless people for sitting, lying or sleeping on public sidewalks as "an unavoidable consequence of being human and homeless without shelter" violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and punishment, a federal appeals court ruled today.

The Meaning of Moussaoui  —  We wonder how many Americans got the same eerie chill that we did reading the partial transcript yesterday of the final 31 minutes of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.  Especially in this holy season of Easter and Passover, it was disturbing to read …

Slacker Friday  —  I've got a new Think Again column called McCarthyism: Standard Operating Procedure, here and a new Nation column here called "AIPAC's Complaint."  Both deal with the reaction to the Walt/Mearsheimer report, and I'll have more to say about each next week.  —  Slacker Friday: