Poll: Vast majority believes Iraq mission not accomplished  —  U.S. marks third anniversary since 'Mission Accomplished' speech  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Three years after President Bush declared major combat over in Iraq, Americans have strong doubts that the United States will fulfill the promise of his …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

Films of Infamy  —  IN the week or so before the film "United 93" opened, there were fretful questions being asked, like "Is America ready?" and "Is such a movie a form of exploitation?"  —  Now that it has opened — and Paul Greengrass's film is a good one — a small wave of self-congratulation has begun to break across the country.

Polygraph Results Often in Question  —  The CIA, the FBI and other federal agencies are using polygraph machines more than ever to screen applicants and hunt for lawbreakers, even as scientists have become more certain that the equipment is ineffective in accurately detecting when people are lying.

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.

A DAY TO HATE THE YANQUIS  —  ***scroll for updates...11:30am EDT Newsflash: The country is still standing...***  —  Welcome to May 1.  It's the day to hate the Yankees.  That is: Americans, not the baseball team.  Via Mexidata: … Lonewacko keeps track of the who's who behind the boycott.

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 …

The Puzzling Case of "Mixed" Lawprof Blogs  —  esponding to Ann Althouse's paper for Paul Caron's Bloggership Conference on the virtues of multi-topic blogging, Larry Solum blogs here for the proposition that a lawprof who wishes to blog about serious scholarly stuff and other topics probably ought …

Divisions Cast Aside in Cry for Darfur  —  Clutching signs that read "Never Again," thousands of protesters from across religious and political divides descended on the Mall yesterday along with celebrities and politicians to urge President Bush to take stronger measures to end the violence …

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 …