Murtha: Iraq killings may hurt war effort  —  WASHINGTON - The deaths of as many as two dozen Iraqi civilians and an ensuing cover-up threaten to do more harm to U.S. efforts in Iraq than even the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, a prominent congressman and war critic says.

A Few Years, and Then Another Bush?  —  WASHINGTON — Bush III?  Or has the dynasty run its course?  —  Those are the questions some Republicans are asking themselves as political talk bubbles up yet again about President Bush's brother Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and his interest in the White House.

Frist Backs Search of Congressman's Office  —  WASHINGTON — In a break with his counterparts in the House, the Senate's leader said Sunday the FBI was within its right to search the office of a congressman under investigation in a bribery case.  —  "No House member, no senator …

Egypt democracy activist blogs from cell  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Even from his cell in an Egyptian prison, Alaa Abdel-Fattah is blogging — scribbling messages on slips of paper that make their way to the Internet and spread around the world.  —  The 24-year-old Abdel-Fattah's blog …

If Power Shifts In 2008  —  A Democrat Might Not Be as Different as You Would Think  —  Could the United States be better off with a Democrat in the White House in 2009?  Here are a couple of reasons the answer might be yes, even if you're not a Democrat.

Pentagon Seeks Nonnuclear Tip for Sub Missiles  —  WASHINGTON, May 28 — The Pentagon is pressing Congress to approve the development of a new weapon that would enable the United States to carry out nonnuclear missile strikes against distant targets within an hour.

MI5 at full stretch as 20 Islamist terror plots revealed  —  TWENTY "major conspiracies" by Islamist terrorists in Britain have been uncovered by the security services, John Reid, the home secretary, has disclosed.  —  Reid said that the existence of so many plots means that the police …

Another Stumble for Ralph Reed's Beleaguered Campaign  —  In August 1999, political organizer Ralph Reed's firm sent out a mailer to Alabama conservative Christians asking them to call then-Rep. Bob Riley (R-Ala.) and tell him to vote against legislation that would have made the U.S. commonwealth …

Elizabeth Vargas, Exiting Stage Center  —  Elizabeth Vargas says she's at peace with her decision to walk away from one of the highest-profile jobs in America.  But not everyone is so thrilled about it, especially some women.  —  Vargas, 43, stepped down as the co-anchor of ABC's …

China Syndrome  —  The Limits of Developmental Autocracy by Minxin Pei  —  A MAN WALKS INTO A BAR.  At first, he finds nothing unusual about the noisy, convivial atmosphere, but then he realizes something is a little different.  Numbers are being called out, one at a time, eliciting laughter from the patrons.

Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV'  —  Federal authorities are actively investigating dozens of American television stations for broadcasting items produced by the Bush administration and major corporations, and passing them off as normal news.  Some of the fake news segments talked …

Tester, Morrison deadlocked  —  HELENA — John Morrison and Jon Tester are running neck-and-neck in their race for the June 7 Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Conrad Burns, a Lee Newspapers poll taken last week shows.  —  Morrison received 42 percent …