Why Al Qaeda Is Retreating From Iraq  —  April 30, 2006: Despite the many brickbats of the media, al Qaeda has been defeated in Iraq, and is now retreating to lick its wounds where it can.  If it can.  Just over four and a half years, al Qaeda has gone from being the dominant terrorist group …

U.S. Prepares for 'Day Without Immigrants'  —  Thousands of illegal immigrants and their allies across the country plan a show of force Monday to illustrate how much immigrants matter in the U.S. economy.  —  Some will skip work, others will protest at lunch breaks, school walkouts or at rallies after work.

Sharp Reaction to G.O.P. Plan on Gas Rebate  —  WASHINGTON, April 30 — The Senate Republican plan to mail $100 checks to voters to ease the burden of high gasoline prices is eliciting more scorn than gratitude from the very people it was intended to help.  —  Aides for several Republican …

Blog Readers Unmasked  —  Think the people who while away their hours reading and commenting on political blogs are slovenly twenty-somethings with nothing better to do?  —  Think again, said a survey last week by Blogads, a company that many leading political blogs have used for ad placements.

Powell Forces Rice to Defend Iraq Planning  —  WASHINGTON - Just back from Baghdad and eager to discuss promising developments, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice found herself knocked off message Sunday, forced to defend prewar planning and troop levels against an unlikely critic …

Pesticides may affect penis size  —  A renowned U.S. scientist supports a ban on the chemicals for cosmetic purposes.  —  A renowned U.S. scientist who has documented fertility and sex changes — including decreasing penis size — due to environmental contamination says he wouldn't apply pesticides on his own lawn.

At Annual Correspondents' Dinner, a Set of Bush Twins Steal the Show  —  It was love at first sight.  When President Bush met Steve Bridges, a Bush impersonator, three years ago in the Oval Office, he immediately thought that he and his doppelganger could gang up at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

Bush's New Top Aide Makes His TV Debut  —  White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten made his television debut in his new role yesterday, describing his West Wing shakeup as an attempt "to get our mojo back" at a time when a politically weakened President Bush faces election-year challenges over war, immigration and energy costs.

When guys on Capitol Hill look like Beavis, Butthead  —  So there I was, banging on the defenseless little television beside my desk.  So outrageous was the grotesque humor on the small screen that I thought the cleaning crew had flipped over to the Comedy Channel.

A Sage in Christendom  —  A personal tribute to Bernard Lewis.  —  Bernard Lewis came to the New World in the nick of time.  Fate—or, more appropriately, history—decreed his American journey and the direction it would take.  The historian, who will turn 90 in a handful of days …

UN is like the Twilight Zone, says Bolton  —  In his first interview with a British newspaper, America's ambassador to the United Nations tells Alec Russell why it is in dire need of reform  —  John Bolton was in his element.  America's famously blunt UN ambassador and hundreds …

Alito May Tilt Vote in Reargued Cases  —  The Supreme Court's newest justice, Samuel A. Alito Jr., has yet to write a signed opinion — majority, concurring or dissenting.  His vote has been recorded in only two cases so far.  —  But it won't be long before Alito makes his mark.

Mock Iraqi Villages in Mojave Prepare Troops for Battle  —  FORT IRWIN, Calif. — Three years into the conflict in Iraq, the front line in the American drive to prepare troops for insurgent warfare runs through a cluster of mock Iraqi villages deep in the Mojave Desert, nearly 10,000 miles …