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.

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 …

Deadly Attack On CBS News Crew  —  Two Team Members Killed, Correspondent Seriously Injured By Roadside Bomb In Baghdad  —  (CBS/AP) Two members of a CBS News team, veteran cameraman Paul Douglas, 48, and soundman James Brolan, 42, were killed and correspondent Kimberly Dozier, 39 …

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.

Iran's Drive to Nuclear Fuel Slows, Diplomats Say  —  After boasting last month that it had joined the "nuclear club" by successfully enriching uranium on an industrial scale — and portraying its action as irreversible — Iran appears to have slowed its drive to produce nuclear fuel …

Babies aborted for not being perfect  —  The ethical storm over abortions has been renewed as it emerged that terminations are being carried out for minor, treatable birth defects.  —  Late terminations have been performed in recent years because the babies had club feet, official figures show.

The Troops Have Moved On  —  N EITHER party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained.  Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease.  So said Abraham Lincoln in his second inaugural address …

Memorial Day  —  Reflections on those who made the ultimate sacrifice.  —  LONDON—In the Cotswold hills, in deep England, there is a pair of villages named Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter.  In addition to its rather gruesome name, Lower Slaughter possesses a unique distinction.

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 …

Rapper faces jail for song dissing France  —  One of France's most popular rappers will appear in court today charged with offending public decency with a song in which he referred to France as a "slut" and vowed to "piss" on Napoleon and Charles de Gaulle.  Monsieur R, whose real name …

FAVORITE MUSIC REVISITED....How do people come up with top ten music lists from their iPods?  Several people — for example, Professor Bainbridge, here — have pointed out to me that iPods keep track of which songs you listen to most often, so it's pretty easy to come up with a list of favorites: Just ask your iPod.

Terms Differ in Jail Releases  —  Experts worry Sheriff Baca's policy of having certain prisoners serve more time for the same crime may invite `equal protection' challenges.  —  Under its policy of selectively releasing criminals to ease jail overcrowding, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department …

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 …

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 …

For Memorial Day: Editorials Still Oppose Iraq Withdrawals  —  NEW YORK Today marks another Memorial Day, this time with the American death toll in Iraq well past 2400 lives, with over 18,000 injured.  Just over six months have passed since hawkish Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) …