Iraqi Minister Backs Iran on Nuclear Research  —  Iraq supports Iran's right to pursue nuclear research, its new foreign minister said today, taking a position at odds with that of the Bush administration.  —  The foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, spoke during a visit to Baghdad by Iran's foreign minister …

Rayburn Reopens After Gunfire Report  —  Police Sources: Construction Caused the Noise of Shots  —  The Rayburn House Office Building was opened shortly after 3 p.m. after being locked down for more than four hours following a report—unconfirmed by police—of gunfire in the building's garage.

Senate confirms Hayden as CIA director  —  WASHINGTON - After hearing assurances he will be independent of the Pentagon, the Senate on Friday easily confirmed Gen. Michael Hayden, a career Air Force man, to head the CIA.  —  Hayden, a four-star general, currently is the top deputy to National Intelligence Director John Negroponte.

Probe Finds Marines Killed Unarmed Iraqi Civilians  —  SAN DIEGO — Marines from Camp Pendleton wantonly killed unarmed Iraqi civilians, including women and children, and then tried to cover up the slayings in the insurgent stronghold of Haditha, military investigations have found.

There's a right way  —  If the information we have read about the behavior of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., seems as obvious to a jury as it does to me, he deserves to be vigorously prosecuted.  I do not want to do anything that will interfere with that prosecution.

White House compares illegal immigration to speeding  —  WASHINGTON - The White House on Friday said a Senate bill that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants is analogous to a traffic law that allows a speeder to pay a fine and continue driving.  —  "If you had a traffic ticket …

Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection  —  The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer.  —  The new findings "were against our expectations," said Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles …

The Coming Blogwars  —  Those of you who have been with me since the dawn of time know that I basically sat out the 2004 primaries and didn't officially take a stand on who the candidate should be.  More than that I did my best to not let my discussion of the primary coverage be influenced by my personal preferences.

Nobody home / Santorum tries to cover his tracks on residency  —  Before every election, the Post-Gazette routinely sends letters to the candidates seeking material for the Voters Guide.  Back in March, as part of that process for the primary, the newspaper sent a letter to Rick Santorum at his home address …

JESSE MACBETH'S DD-214  —  Someone has posted a scanned copy of what appears to be a DD-214 for one Jesse Adam MacBeth.  My initial read of it tells me that he most likely dropped out of boot camp.  —  Blocks 11 and 13 appear to have been crudely "modified" after the fact.  —  Block 11 reads as follows:

Dying 'Dr. Death' Has Second Thoughts About Assisting Suicides  —  Jack Kevorkian Still Supports Movement, but Has Misgivings About His Methods  —  May 26, 2006 — Today, on his 78th birthday, Jack Kevorkian, the man known as "Dr. Death," is slowly dying in prison.

Memorial Day Weekend  —  Many people have become aware of a recent serious photo copyright infringement.  The photo in question is that of Major Bieger holding a little Iraqi girl named Farah who was killed by a suicide car bomber in Mosul, Iraq.  I first became aware of the infringement …