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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.).

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 …

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."

Bin Laden: Moussaoui Not Linked to 9/11  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden purportedly said in an audio tape Tuesday that Zacarias Moussaoui — the only person convicted in the U.S. for the Sept. 11 attacks — had nothing to do with the operation.  —  "He had no connection at all with Sept. 11 …

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 …

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 …