A Man Who Won't Sell His Soul  —  BRUSSELS — Sen. John McCain likes the moral high ground, and he takes palpable pleasure in delivering zingers to errant Russians, Iranians and Europeans, as he did at a conference here last weekend.  But as the apparent front-runner in the 2008 presidential race …

Hitchens the Hacker; And, Hitchens the Orientalist  —  And, "We don't Want Your Stinking War!  —  Christopher Hitchens owes me a big apology.  —  I belong to a private email discussion group called Gulf2000.  It has academics, journalists and policy makers on it.

Democrats Push Fight for House in the Northeast  —  George Ruhe for The New York Times, left; Steven Lee Miller for The New York Times, right  —  Nancy L. Johnson, center, a 12-term Republican congresswoman in Connecticut, discussed issues recently with two constituents, Leo McIlrath and Alice Neville.

Filling tanks, funding dictators  —  FREE-MARKET purists are getting a lot of mileage out of scoffing at all the hysteria about rising oil prices.  From a strictly economic point of view, they've got a point.  Even with crude selling at more than $71 a barrel and gasoline at about $3 a gallon, the U.S. economy continues to expand.

Federal Study Finds Accord on Warming  —  A scientific study commissioned by the Bush administration concluded yesterday that the lower atmosphere was indeed growing warmer and that there was "clear evidence of human influences on the climate system."  —  The finding eliminates a significant area …

Administration Is Singing More Than One Tune on Spanish Version of Anthem  —  President Bush declared last week that the national anthem should be sung in English not Spanish, but he evidently never told his own government or campaign organizations.  —  The State Department posts four Spanish versions of …

After Press Dinner, the Blogosphere Is Alive With the Sound of Colbert Chatter  —  Mark Smith, a reporter for The Associated Press who is president of the White House Correspondents' Association, acknowledges that he had not seen much of Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central before he booked …

Acrimony Over Bush Judicial Nominations Resurfaces  —  Senate Democrats Threaten To Filibuster Conservative Duo  —  After months of relative quiet, senators raised the prospect yesterday of a return to bitter battles and a possible filibuster over judicial nominations …

Mexico to Allow Use of Drugs  —  Fox will sign the bill, one of the world's most permissive policies, in a bid to curb trafficking.  U.S. officials say it will lead to more addiction.  —  MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Vicente Fox will sign a bill that would legalize the use of nearly every drug …

Sheriff to Start Posse Patrols to Curb Illegal Immigration Flow  —  (CBS 5 NEWS) - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced that approximately 100 volunteer posse and Sheriff's Deputies will soon begin randomly patrolling the desert areas and main roadways in southwest Maricopa County …

Taliban Threat Is Said to Grow in Afghan South  —  TIRIN KOT, Afghanistan, April 27 — Building on a winter campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations and the knowledge that American troops are leaving, the Taliban appear to be moving their insurgency into a new phase …

Voters Oust Backers of Immigrants In Herndon  —  Three Incumbents Lose Who Supported Center  —  Herndon voters yesterday unseated the mayor and two Town Council members who supported a bitterly debated day-labor center for immigrant workers in a contest that emerged as a mini-referendum …

Hearing vowed on Bush's powers  —  Senator questions bypassing of laws  —  WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, accusing the White House of a ''very blatant encroachment" on congressional authority, said yesterday he will hold an oversight hearing into President Bush's assertion …