Seven Indonesian Bird Flu Cases Linked to Patients (Update1)  —  May 23 (Bloomberg) — All seven people infected with bird flu in a cluster of Indonesian cases can be linked to other patients, according to disease trackers investigating possible human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus.

Bush-hatred a threat to national security  —  ENOUGH already!  It's harmful enough that ideological conflict and partisan politics are preventing this country from solving its long-term challenges on health care, fiscal policy and energy.  Now it's threatening our national survival.

IDF arrests most-wanted Hamas bomb mastermind in West Bank  —  After an eight-year manhunt, Israeli security forces early Tuesday seized the Ramallah-area commander of Hamas' military wing, Israel's most wanted man in the West Bank.  —  Sheikh Ibrahim Hamed, 41, has been wanted since 1998 …

Jesse Macbeth video goes viral (bumped)  —  Clarice Feldman marveled yesterday at how quickly nonsense gets debunked these days online.  Ah, Clarice: you haven't looked at the top of the Google Video charts lately, have you?  Despite the best efforts of some, nonsense thrives on the Internet.

Latest Information on Veterans Affairs Data Security  —  The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has recently learned that an employee, a data analyst, took home electronic data from the VA, which he was not authorized to do.  This behavior was in violation of VA policies.

Former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen dies  —  Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr., a Texas patrician who made a sizable fortune in private business and an even bigger name in national government as a U.S. senator and Treasury secretary, has died, family members said today.  He was 85.

2 in CIA to testify Libby lied on leak  —  WASHINGTON - Two top CIA officials will bolster prosecutors' charge that Vice President Cheney's chief aide lied to them, court papers show.  —  Prosecutors say disgraced Cheney chief of staff Lewis (Scooter) Libby learned CIA spy Valerie Plame's identity from …

Revisionist History  —  Antiwar myths about Iraq, debunked.  —  Iraqis can participate in three historic elections, pass the most liberal constitution in the Arab world, and form a unity government despite terrorist attacks and provocations.  Yet for some critics of the president, these are minor matters.

McCain calls for more nukes  —  'We've got to get over it,' senator says  —  May 23.  —  he United States needs to overcome its fear of nuclear power and embrace the technology as a way to wean itself from fossil fuels, Sen. John McCain told an audience in Manchester yesterday.  —  Nuclear power "is safe.

Lieberman withdraws from MoveOn.org 'primary'  —  Lieberman Declines Invitation—Stand-in Sought / MoveOn.org Statement on Connecticut Online Primary for U.S. Senate  —  From a MoveOn.org press release to RAW STORY.  —  After initially agreeing, Senator Lieberman has declined our invitation …

In Attack Mode, a Rightist Surges in Mexico  —  TUXTLA GUTIÉRREZ, Mexico, May 19 — Felipe Calderón loves to make allusions to Mexican folk songs.  These days, the conservative candidate for president is particularly fond of recalling a song about a nag named Relámpago …

Clergy Group Aims to Block Gay Marriage Amendment  —  WASHINGTON, May 22 — An interfaith coalition of clergy members and lay leaders announced a petition drive on Monday aimed at blocking a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.  —  The Senate Judiciary Committee passed …

Charles Gibson Named Sole Anchor of 'World News Tonight'  —  Elizabeth Vargas to Step Down to Take Maternity Leave and Return to Co-Anchor '20/20' and Anchor ABC News Specials in the Fall  —  May 23, 2006 — ABC News has named Charles Gibson to be sole anchor of "World News Tonight."

The New Temptation Of Democrats  —  When mega-pastor Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church opened last year in its new Houston home, the city's former professional basketball arena, a most unlikely guest was on hand for the celebration: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Madonna concert review: 'Even the bouncers looked scared'  —  Video: Madonna rehearsing  —  Gallery: Pictures of Madonna in concert More: Madonna's mock crucifixion  —  Riding crop in hand, leather boots gripping her legs, equestrian-cum-bondage gear strapped across her body and, of course …

Divisive In Any Language  —  Yes, let's talk about the English language and how important it is that immigrants and their children learn it.  —  And please permit me to be personal about an issue that is equally personal to the tens of millions of Americans who remember their immigrant roots.

Architect of New War on the West  —  Writings Lay Out Post-9/11 Strategy of Isolated Cells Joined in Jihad  —  MADRID — From secret hideouts in South Asia, the Spanish-Syrian al-Qaeda strategist published thousands of pages of Internet tracts on how small teams of Islamic extremists …