Sounds of gunfire reported in Capitol complex  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Capitol Police said Friday they were investigating reports of sounds of gunfire in the garage of the Rayburn Office Building, where members of the House have their offices.  —  Law enforcement expert Mike Brooks …

Analysis: Euphoria gone for Bush and Blair  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair looked less like cheerleaders for the latest milestone of democratic political progress in Iraq and more like world-weary leaders who had met their match.

Lawmaker Raid May Come Back to Bite Bush  —  Anger in Congress Could Cost  —  The President Some Allies  —  And Curb His Legislative Influence  —  WASHINGTON — The recent FBI raid of a congressman's office is fueling a power struggle between Congress and the administration …

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.

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 …

Say No to Tehran's Gambit  —  All of a sudden, revolutionary Iran has offered direct talks with the United States.  All of a sudden, the usual suspects — European commentators, American liberals, dissident CIA analysts, Madeleine Albright — are urging the administration to take the bait.

Military Expected to Report Marines Killed Iraqi Civilians  —  WASHINGTON, May 25 — A military investigation into the deaths of two dozen Iraqis last November is expected to find that a small number of marines in western Iraq carried out extensive, unprovoked killings of civilians …

Defendants Sunk by Their Testimony  —  HOUSTON, May 25 — Jurors in the Enron trial made it clear that it would have been better for former executives Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling if they'd kept their mouths shut and stayed off the witness stand.  —  Speaking shortly …

A beginning  —  [The following is the text of my talk at last night's Euston Manifesto launch.]  —  By one of those coincidences that don't mean anything, 70 years ago today - and I mean to the very day - the poet T.S. Eliot paid a visit to a small hamlet in Cambridgeshire.

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 …

Border Fight Divides G.O.P.  —  WASHINGTON, May 25 — The negotiations between the White House and Congress that will follow the Senate's passage on Thursday of an immigration bill could decide not just how the nation confronts illegal immigration but also what strain of conservatism …

We Got Mail from Reuters (Bumped)  —  Early this morning at about 3:00 am on the West Coast, someone in [Sweden] Britain connected to the Internet and browsed over to this article at the Guardian by Inayat Bunglawala, media secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain: This code could open doors.

London club 'bombing plan' taped  —  An alleged British terror cell talked of blowing up London's Ministry of Sound nightclub, the Old Bailey heard.  —  Accused Jawad Akbar said no-one could "turn round and say 'oh they were innocent' those slags dancing around?".

Conservative Top 50  —  1. "Won't Get Fooled Again," by The Who.  —  The conservative movement is full of disillusioned revolutionaries; this could be their theme song, an oath that swears off naive idealism once and for all.  "There's nothing in the streets / Looks any different …