Transcript: Bin Laden accuses West  —  The following is an edited translation of an audiotape attributed to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, parts of which were aired by Aljazeera on April 23, 2006.  (It is not known where or when the recording was made.)  —  Praise be to Allah …

WMD Report Doesn't Match CIA Official's Memory  —  I'm still rubbing my eyes over this.  —  Former senior CIA official Tyler Drumheller appeared on CBS News' "60 Minutes" last night to talk about what he knew of the Niger uranium fiasco.  As Drumheller tells it, nobody at the CIA believed Iraq …

Bush's Thousand Days  —  The Hundred Days is indelibly associated with Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Thousand Days with John F. Kennedy.  But as of this week, a thousand days remain of President Bush's last term — days filled with ominous preparations for and dark rumors of a preventive war against Iran.

Warily, Iraqis Investing Hope in New Leaders  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 23 — On the cusp of their first permanent government since the American-led invasion, Iraqis are not exactly celebrating.  Rather, they seem to be gritting their teeth and clinging grimly to the battered hope for democracy …

Cole Fire  —  Yale is set to ditch Taliban Man and may hire a notorious anti-Israel professor.  —  Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi's luck is running out.  Eight weeks ago the Taliban diplomat turned special Yale student made a media splash on the cover of the New York Times magazine in which he proclaimed …

INTRODUCING HOT AIR  —  I'm excited to introduce you today to Hot Air—a conservative Internet broadcast network I founded with a team of multi-talented bloggers.  (Press release here.)  —  Internet video is booming.  Apple's iTunes store has sold a gazillion videos since its debut.

Parade for 'warriors'  —  Thousands downtown welcome 278th Regimental Combat Team home after deployment to Iraq  —  Up to 20,000 people turned out Saturday for a parade to welcome home the National Guard's 278th Regimental Combat Team, providing a big-city atmosphere powered by small-town values.

Police: Many casualties in Egyptian resort blasts  —  Three explosions rocked the Sinai resort city of Dahab on Monday night leaving at least 100 dead and wounded, according to the doctor who runs Egypt's rescue squad in the peninsula.  —  Dr. Said Essa said he was headed to the scene of the blasts …

A Religious Push Against Gay Unions  —  WASHINGTON, April 23 — About 50 prominent religious leaders, including seven Roman Catholic cardinals and about a half-dozen archbishops, have signed a petition in support of a constitutional amendment blocking same-sex marriage.

Iran president calls Israel 'fake regime'  —  Ahmadinejad says country's nuclear activities transparent  —  TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday again criticized Israel and called on Jews to leave the Mideast and "return to their fatherlands" in Europe.

Inspectors Find More Torture at Iraqi Jails  —  Top General's Pledge To Protect Prisoners 'Not Being Followed'  —  BAGHDAD — Last Nov. 13, U.S. soldiers found 173 incarcerated men, some of them emaciated and showing signs of torture, in a secret bunker in an Interior Ministry compound in central Baghdad.

Cyber war over UCSC protest heats up  —  In the easy and anonymous world of cyberspace communication, angry partisans on both sides of the anti-war movement can volley threatening barbs at the click of a button.  UC Santa Cruz students and conservative pundits alike have seen such messages filing …

Concerns About Pain Put Lethal Injection on Trial  —  A flurry of litigation challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection has placed a spotlight on growing evidence that condemned inmates may not be properly anesthetized and therefore experience excruciating pain during executions.

Dissident President  —  George W. Bush has the courage to speak out for freedom.  —  There are two distinct marks of a dissident.  First, dissidents are fired by ideas and stay true to them no matter the consequences.  Second, they generally believe that betraying those ideas would constitute the greatest of moral failures.

Senate Vote Inquiry Widens as Democrats Probe White House Link  —  April 24 (Bloomberg) — To Republicans, the New Hampshire phone-jamming incident is an isolated case of political dirty tricks that took place more than three years ago.  —  To Democrats, it's a scandal with echoes of Watergate …

Blog Fight On Capitol Hill  —  How deep is the partisan rancor in Congress?  So deep that aides are bickering over who knows more about blogs.  —  The spat broke out in the House on Friday between spokesmen for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Georgia Republican Jack Kingston …

TV station catches gaffe by McKinney  —  Congresswoman berates staffer as tape rolled after interview  —  Move over Britney Spears, Cynthia McKinney's — oops! — done it again.  —  The flap-plagued congresswoman, who has been in the media spotlight since she scuffled with a Capitol Hill police officer …

At Los Angeles Times, a Columnist Who Used a False Web Name Loses His Blog  —  In the last few years, newspapers around the country have been testing the waters of the seldom-restrained, often scrappy world of Web-based journalism by setting their reporters loose to write their own blogs.

Democrats Hope to Divide G.O.P. Over Stem Cells  —  COLUMBIA, Mo., April 19 — Democrats are pressing their support for embryonic stem cell research in Congressional races around the country, seeking to move back to center stage an issue they believe resonates with voters and to exploit …