F.B.I. Raid Divides G.O.P. Lawmakers and White House  —  WASHINGTON, May 23 — After years of quietly acceding to the Bush administration's assertions of executive power, the Republican-led Congress hit a limit this weekend.  —  Resentment boiled among senior Republicans for a second …

An Amnesty by Any Other Name ...  IN the debate over immigration, "amnesty" has become something of a dirty word.  Some opponents of the immigration bill being debated in the Senate assert that it would grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.  Supporters claim it would do no such thing.

West Bank Pullout Gets a Nod From Bush  —  WASHINGTON, May 23 — President Bush offered conditional support on Tuesday for Israeli ideas for a substantial withdrawal of settlers from the West Bank, but insisted that the new prime minister, Ehud Olmert, first exhaust all possibilities for a negotiated solution.

A.C.L.U. May Block Criticism by Its Board  —  The American Civil Liberties Union is weighing new standards that would discourage its board members from publicly criticizing the organization's policies and internal administration.  —  "Where an individual director disagrees with a board position …

Bill Frist: A Doctor at Heart  —  The houses were dark on Bill Frist's street.  A morning bird chirped; the others were waiting for dawn.  But Frist was awake, and his bedroom light was on.  "I'm going to take a shower," the Senate majority leader said brightly.  Ten minutes later, the blow dryer roared.

Senate Panel Endorses C.I.A. Nominee  —  WASHINGTON, May 23 — The Senate Intelligence Committee strongly endorsed Gen. Michael V. Hayden on Tuesday to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency, with all but three members, all Democrats, voting to send General Hayden's nomination to the Senate floor.

Another fake soldier tale debunked  —  Meet "Jessie MacBeth."  He's the latest cause celebre of the anti-war Left — a "former Army Ranger and Iraq war veteran" who accuses his fellow troops of committing a litany of atrocities against innocent civilians.  Anti-Vietnam War veteran John Kerry and the Winter Soldiers cast a long shadow.

Zoellick Would Leave State If Passed Over for Top Treasury Job  —  May 24 (Bloomberg) — One of the Bush administration's most prominent foreign and economic policy voices, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, may soon depart for the private sector.  —  Zoellick has told administration officials …

Al-Zarqawi Aide, Arrested in Jordan, Confesses to Iraq Killings  —  May 23 (Bloomberg) — An aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, today appeared on state-run Jordanian television and confessed to involvement in the killings of Iraqis and other Arabs.

Iran Requests Direct Talks on Nuclear Program  —  TEHRAN, May 23 — Iran has followed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent letter to President Bush with explicit requests for direct talks on its nuclear program, according to U.S. officials, Iranian analysts and foreign diplomats.

Turn 9/11 rubble into a killing machine?  Hello?  —  Whoever said that irony was dead in America clearly hadn't heard about the assault ship USS New York  —  THE CLICHÉ goes that Americans do not understand irony.  Not true.  Seinfeld ran for 181 episodes and TV Guide rated it the best comedy show ever.

Gonzales Defends Phone-Data Collection  —  Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said yesterday that the government can obtain domestic telephone records without court approval under a 1979 Supreme Court ruling that authorized the collection of business records.

Armed Groups Propel Iraq Toward Chaos  —  Haider Hamid was arrested in Baghdad on April 15 by officers wearing Interior Ministry uniforms, according to Mr. Hamid's brother, Majid.  Majid Hamid found his brother's body, above, showing signs of torture, five days later in the city morgue.

Extremism Isn't Islamic Law  —  For a few days this year the world's media focused an intense spotlight on the drama of a modern-day inquisition.  Abdul Rahman, a Muslim convert to Christianity, narrowly escaped the death penalty for apostasy when the Afghan government …