Bauer Replaces McClellan as Press Secretary  —  What better way to reign in the White House Press Corps than to install Jack Bauer as Press Secretary?  Let's see if David Gregory has the guts to ask Jack Bauer about "sloppy seconds".  Imagine Jack Bauer trying to sit still while Helen Thomas goes on one of her diatribes.

Bravo  —  And bravo again.  —  Whether or not you care for Michelle Malkin's political positions, you should be honest enough to admit that this crusade to try to intimidate her and her family—a crusade being waged by mostly anonymous cowards who no person in the blogosphere, left OR right …

The Worst President in History?  —  One of America's leading historians assesses George W. Bush  —  George W. Bush's presidency appears headed for colossal historical disgrace.  Barring a cataclysmic event on the order of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, after which the public might rally around …

Attorneys: Photos Will Exonerate Players  —  DURHAM, N.C. — NBC has obtained exclusive photos that defense lawyers for the Duke University lacrosse players feel will exonerate their clients of rape charges.  —  Collin Finnerty, 19, and Reade Seligmann, 20, were charged Tuesday with first-degree rape …

Unforeseen Spending on Materiel Pumps Up Iraq War Bill  —  Senate to Take Up Measure as Military Fights to Keep Guns, Tanks Working  —  With the expected passage this spring of the largest emergency spending bill in history, annual war expenditures in Iraq will have nearly doubled since the U.S. invasion …

Hundreds nabbed in immigration raid  —  Executives, workers arrested in nationwide move against pallet maker … WASHINGTON - Immigration agents arrested seven executives and hundreds of employees of a manufacturer of crates and pallets Wednesday as part of a crackdown on employers of illegal workers.

Muslim students 'being taught to despise unbelievers as filth'  —  Pupils protest as college linked to Iran puts fundamentalist text on curriculum, reports our correspondent  —  MUSLIM students training to be imams at a British college with strong Iranian links have complained …

Opinion seemed to encourage a higher review  —  A state court handed U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay a legal victory Wednesday, but in language that almost seemed to urge Travis County prosecutors to second-guess it with an appeal.  —  The state's 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin affirmed Judge Pat Priest's decision …

Wombs for Rent, Cheap  —  Surrogate mothers in India are a bargain for foreigners, and the women reap a bonanza.  But some observers say they pay a price.  —  ANAND, India — As temp jobs go, Saroj Mehli has landed what she feels is a pretty sweet deal.  It's a nine-month gig …

LET THE SWIFT-BOATING OF THE GENERALS BEGIN  —  We live in low, dishonest times, where spurious charges come fast and furious daily, but few can trump the cheapness of the recent attacks directed at some of the retired Generals that recently came out against Don Rumsfeld's stewardship of the war effort.

U.S. Records Drastic Decline in Death Rate  —  ATLANTA - In what appears to be an amazing success for American medicine, preliminary government figures released Wednesday showed that the annual number of deaths in the U.S. dropped by nearly 50,000 in 2004 — the biggest decline in nearly 70 years.

Death Lists and Dissenters  —  Allegations of "apostasy" among Muslims are presently a topic for global controversy.  To Westerners, apostasy from Islam seems to denote conversion to Christianity, since the persecution of Muslims who have changed their religion has gained media attention …

What Muslims Hear at Friday Prayers  —  Is there really a clash of the cultures between Islam and the West?  SPIEGEL documents Friday sermons from mosques around the world.  As imams guide their congregations, they praise the delights of paradise, sow the seeds of doubt in government authority — and sometimes preach hatred.

Chips down, Bush prepares a Hail Mary bet  —  It's just like playing blackjack in Vegas.  —  Invariably, sitting right next to you is some guy, eyes shifty and body twitchy and making weird sounds with his mouth and smelling vaguely of sawdust and horse manure and dead dreams …