Confident Democrats Lay Out Agenda  —  Party Plans Probes Of Administration If It Wins the House  —  Democratic leaders, increasingly confident they will seize control of the House in November, are laying plans for a legislative blitz during their first week in power that would raise the minimum wage …

Israel foils plot to kill Palestinian president  —  A HAMAS plot to assassinate Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has been thwarted after he was tipped off by Israeli intelligence.  —  Hamas's military wing, the Izza Din Al-Qassem, had planned to kill Abbas at his office in Gaza, intelligence sources said.

Iraqis, British Troops Spar After Crash  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq — A British military helicopter apparently was hit by a missile Saturday and crashed in Basra, triggering a confrontation in which jubilant Iraqis pelted British troops with stones, hurled firebombs and shouted slogans in support of a radical Shiite Muslim cleric.

If Ray McGovern Speaks 'Truth to Power' Why the Lie About WMD?  —  While CNN was propping up Ray McGovern as the new "Cindy Sheehan with facial hair", Ray was spewing out anti-Semitic drivel over at MSNBC's The Situation with Tucker Carlson.  —  Ray McGovern delivers mock indictments through a fence to guards at the White House.

Poll: More Drivers Feel Pinch at the Pump  —  WASHINGTON - High pump prices are pinching the pocketbooks of seven in 10 Americans, a financial hardship that more middle- and higher-income drivers say they are beginning to feel, an AP-Ipsos poll found.  —  With gasoline prices topping $3 …

HILLARY CLINTON: TOO MUCH OF A CLINTON DEMOCRAT?  —  Hillary Clinton has a few problems if she wants to secure the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.  She is a leader who fails to lead.  She does not appear "electable."  But most of all, Hillary has a Bill Clinton problem.

In a Dentist Shortage, British (Ouch) Do It Themselves  —  George Glasper, 81, at the Dental Access Center in Rochdale.  It gives emergency care but is always swamped.  —  ROCHDALE, England, May 2 — "I snapped it out myself," said William Kelly, 43, describing his most recent dental procedure …

Libby Loses Bid for Documents in CIA Case  —  WASHINGTON - A federal judge refused on Friday to give I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby access to a wide range of information from several government agencies, saying he would not allow the former White House aide's trial in the CIA leak case to become a debate over the war in Iraq.

With Smear Scandal, France Near Paralysis  —  PARIS — When French criminal investigators finish their probe of the smear, who was smeared and who did the smearing may be little more than a footnote.  —  A burgeoning political scandal of alleged dirty tricks involving the cabinet's …

Chavez Wants Vote on Governing Until '31  —  CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez said Saturday that Venezuelan voters should have the chance to decide whether he should govern the country for the next 25 years.  —  Speaking at a stadium packed with supporters in central Lara state …

Blasts at 2 Chinese Internet Cafes Kill 2  —  BEIJING — Explosions rocked two Internet cafes in central China, killing two people, injuring four and leaving the premises spattered with blood and broken glass, a local official and state media said Saturday.  —  Authorities refused to say if bombs …

Goss: CIA resignation 'one of those mysteries'  —  Bush expected to tap former NSA chief as replacement  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Porter Goss said Saturday that his surprise resignation as CIA director is "just one of those mysteries," offering no other explanation for his sudden departure after almost two years on the job.

Islamic scholars to issue pro-Hamas fatwa  —  DOHA (AFP) - Islamic scholars are to meet in Doha next week to draw up a fatwa, or religious edict, obliging the Muslim faithful to help the internationally isolated Palestinian government headed by Hamas.  —  Influential cleric Yussef al-Qardawi …

Three ACI guards charged with assaulting inmates  —  ACI Director A.T. Wall says he will move to have the correctional officers fired if they are convicted.  —  PROVIDENCE — Three state correctional officers, including a captain who allegedly forced an inmate to taste his own feces on Valentine's Day …

What Can We Do About Iraq and Iran?  —  President Bush's job approval ratings continue to plummet, as increasing numbers of Americans recognize that the Administration lacks the clear thinking required to deal with the critical issues that confront America, such as Iraq and Iran.

Nonlawyer Father Wins His Suit Over Education, and the Bar Is Upset  —  Several years ago, Brian Woods sued the school board in Akron, Ohio, on behalf of his autistic son Daniel.  Mr. Woods wanted to make sure that Daniel received an appropriate education, and he won several concessions and about $160,000.

MI3 Box Office Disappoints.  Cruise's Fault?  —  I'm told that, according to rival studio estimates, Paramount's MI3 will gross in the mid-$40 millions — $45 mil-to-$46 mil — for this opening weekend, much lower than the pre-Friday estimates of $63 mil from 4,054 theaters.