Senate guest worker plan survives attack  —  Boxer, Alabama Republican fail to kill provision, but number of visas is reduced  —  Washington — Seldom do California's liberal Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and Alabama's conservative Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions agree on anything.

Verizon Denies Turning Over Local Phone Data  —  Verizon, the country's second-largest phone company, said yesterday that it had not provided local phone records to the National Security Agency as part of efforts to compile a database of calling records to track terrorist activities.

Bush Is Now A Lame Duck  —  CBS' Meyer: Forget November, Forget '08; President Is Done  —  (CBS) This commentary was written by CBSNews.com's Dick Meyer.  —  The great impulse of the punditocracy right now is to look at President Bush's swelling problems with the public and his party …

Conservative Battle Fatique?  The "What If" Issue  —  More bad news for the GOP in today's edition of The Washington Post as 56 percent of the respondents to the latest Post/ABC News survey say they prefer Democrats in control of Congress.  —  There is a distinct, though not quite as deep …

'Earthquake in Pennsylvania'  —  TRIBUNE-REVIEW  —  Angry taxpayers on Tuesday tossed out the two Republican Senate leaders who helped engineer last year's legislative pay raise, an issue that apparently cost 15 House members their jobs, too.  —  Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer of Altoona …

INTERVIEW-US satirist Art Spiegelman tackles Danish cartoons  —  NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - Controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad have been reprinted in a U.S. magazine with commentary by leading U.S. cartoonist Art Spiegelman, who offers what he calls a "fatwa bomb meter" to rate their offensiveness.

Open Letter on Immigration  —  I have written an open letter on immigration reflecting the consensus opinion of economists on the major issues.  In cooperation with the Independent Institute I am looking for as many signatures as possible from economists and other social scientists.

Paris suburb names street for cop-killer Abu-Jamal  —  As Philadelphians cope with another police slaying, news comes that a suburb of Paris has named a street for Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of the 1981 murder of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.  —  Hundreds of supporters of Abu-Jamal attended …

Sherwood Survives  —  Rep. Don Sherwood (R-PA), his popularity weighed down by a messy extramartial affair, narrowly survived a primary challenge from a virtual unknown with a Democratic voting history.  —  With more than half of the vote counted, Sherwood led challenger Kathy Scott 56 percent to 44 percent.

Albinos Condemn 'Da Vinci' Assassin  —  The notion of Christ as a family man is not the only raw nerve "The Da Vinci Code" has touched.  Albinos are bothered that one of their own has yet again been depicted as a villain.  —  Dan Brown's best seller begins its worldwide debut Wednesday …

Still Dodging Immigration's Truths  —  President Bush's immigration speech mostly missed the true nature of the problem.  We face two interconnected population issues.  One is aging; the other is immigration.  We aren't dealing sensibly with either, and as a result we face a future …

The Parent Trap  —  Not long ago we worried about baby booms and overpopulation.  Now some people are worrying about a "Global Baby Bust."  Writing in Foreign Affairs, Phillip Longman says it's mostly because of economics: … He's clearly right about the economics.

Venezuela may sell U.S. jets to Iran, others  —  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's military is considering the possibility of selling its fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to another country, perhaps Iran, a Venezuelan military official said Tuesday.

U.S. Secretly Backing Warlords in Somalia  —  More than a decade after U.S. troops withdrew from Somalia following a disastrous military intervention, officials of Somalia's interim government and some U.S. analysts of Africa policy say the United States has returned to the African country …

Foster Quotes Eminem at Penn Graduation  —  PHILADELPHIA - You can add rapping to the list of Jodie Foster's talents.  The Oscar-winning actress spoke Monday at the University of Pennsylvania's commencement ceremonies, ending her address with the chorus of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" from …

A Travesty of an "Investigation"  —  I have received the report of the Investigative Committee of the University of Colorado and consider it a travesty.  This "investigation" has all along been a pretext to punish me for engaging constitutionally-protected speech and, more generally …

G.O.P. Voters to Be Target of Radio Ads by Democrats  —  WASHINGTON, May 16 — House Democrats, trying to capitalize on conservative dissatisfaction with Republicans, are reaching out to Christian voters with radio advertisements critical of Republican proposals to overhaul Social Security.

Ferry passengers stranded after wartime bomb is found in Mersey  —  Two ferries carrying 250 passengers and crew were stranded for almost eight hours yesterday after a 1,000lb German wartime bomb was discovered floating in the Mersey.  —  It was detected by the sonar of a Royal Navy warship …

Disinvited  —  The EEOC cancels a meeting rather than listen to criticism.  —  Last month, I received an invitation to testify before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about affirmative action and diversity in U.S. companies.  The testimony was scheduled for today …

At White House Briefing, Polish Replaces Testiness  —  Tony Snow said he didn't want to "hug the tar baby," and then he did just that by using the expression in his first televised White House press briefing yesterday.  —  The tar-covered doll that Br'er Fox used to ensnare Br'er Rabbit …