Iran eyes badges for Jews  —  Law would require non-Muslim insignia  —  Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.

USA Today Reporter a Democratic Donor; Phone Company Demands Retraction  —  Leslie Cauley, the USA Today reporter who last week "broke" the news that three major U.S. telecommunications companies were assisting the National Security Agency in building a database to more easily track …

Lieberman Wins Nomination, But Lamont Forces Primary!  —  HARTFORD, Conn. — U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman was nominated for a fourth term by state Democrats tonight, but his anti-war challenger garnered enough delegates to force a primary in August.  —  Backers of Ned Lamont …

Press Gaggle by Tony Snow  —  MR. SNOW: All right, thank you.  Welcome all.  Since there will be no on-air briefing today, we will publish the gaggle a bit later so you can all consult.  —  Q Great.  No bupkis list, then?  —  MR. SNOW: Well, if there's a bupkis list, we will attach the answers in the form of footnotes.

U.N. Panel Backs Closing Prison at Guantánamo  —  A United Nations panel on torture called on the United States today to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and expressed concern over reports of secret detention centers and of a practice of sending terror suspects to countries with poor human rights records.

'National' or 'common'?  Senate ponders what to call English  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Whether English is America's "national language" or its national "common and unifying language" was a question dominating the Senate immigration debate.  —  The Senate first voted 63-34 Thursday to designate English as the …

McCain at New School: Honeymoon is Over  —  "I haven't heard anyone aroused about me speaking at the New School," John McCain said in April, defending his decision to address Jerry Falwell's Liberty University.  —  Nobody at all, except for virtually the entire crowd at the New School's …

The Inaccurate Taliban Offensive; Taliban military commander Mullah Dadullah reported captured  —  The news reports of a major Taliban offensive in southeastern Afghanistan are inaccurate, as Coalition offensives and Taliban attacks have been lumped together to give the impression of a coordinated Taliban assault in multiple provinces.

Illegals granted Social Security  —  The Senate voted yesterday to allow illegal aliens to collect Social Security benefits based on past illegal employment — even if the job was obtained through forged or stolen documents.  —  "There was a felony they were committing, and now they can't be prosecuted.

Giuliani Campaigns for Ex-Leader of Christian Coalition  —  ATLANTA, May 18 — Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani glided over his support for gay civil unions and declared heterosexual marriage to be "inviolate" today as he helped raise money for a former leader of the Christian Coalition …

Scalia Tells Congress to Mind Its Own Business  —  Justice Antonin Scalia rebuked fellow conservatives on Capitol Hill yesterday, saying they have gone too far in trying to prevent the Supreme Court from using foreign law in its constitutional rulings.  —  Scalia dissented vigorously …

Federal appeals judge Edward R. Becker dies at 73  —  PHILADELPHIA - Edward R. Becker, a judge of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals known for his scholarly opinions and humble lifestyle, died Friday, according to the court.  He was 73.  —  The court's statement did not specify a cause …

The Other Side of the Green Line  —  RAMALLAH - I rode in an Israeli taxi with Palestinian journalist Sufian Taha from the American Colony Hotel to the Qalandia checkpoint on the road to Ramallah, capital of nascent Palestine, in the hills of the West Bank over Jerusalem.