Bush Selects Goldman Chief to Take Over Treasury Dept.  —  WASHINGTON, May 30 — President Bush today nominated Henry M. Paulson Jr., the chairman of one of Wall Street's biggest firms, to become his next Treasury secretary and what Mr. Bush described as "my principle economic adviser."

New Policy Adviser Admits Altering Text  —  Karl Zinsmeister, President Bush's new domestic policy adviser, acknowledged he did something wrong when he took a newspaper profile of himself, altered quotes and text, and then posted it on a Web site without noting the changes.

Pedophiles to launch political party  —  AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch pedophiles are launching a political party to push for a cut in the legal age for sexual relations to 12 from 16 and the legalization of child pornography and sex with animals, sparking widespread outrage.

Justices, 5-4, Limit Whistleblower Suits  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it harder for government employees to file lawsuits claiming they were retaliated against for going public with allegations of official misconduct.  —  By a 5-4 vote, justices said the nation's 20 …

Ceballos— The Court Creates Bad Information Policy  —  Marty has explained the details of the Ceballos opinion below and I won't repeat what he has to say here.  Instead let me offer a few remarks on the larger meaning of the case.  —  The Court's employee speech cases rest on an unstable tension.

The Purpose Driven Life Takers  —  Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life.  You are issued high-tech military weaponry …

Is the tide finally turning in Mexico?  —  Funny thing about Mexican President Vicente Fox's visit to the American West last week: It didn't turn out as one would have expected.  —  The tall, lanky, laconic "presidente," who seemed to offer such hope to Mexico when he was elected five years ago …

Dems say oil execs, Bush Admin set to gain from estate tax repeal  —  Democrats have prepared for an upcoming Senate battle over repeal of the estate tax by releasing estimated savings the repeal could equal for oil executives and members of the Bush Administration, RAW STORY has learned.

Gore: Bush is 'renegade rightwing extremist'  —  Al Gore has made his sharpest attack yet on the George Bush presidency, describing the current US administration as "a renegade band of rightwing extremists".  —  In an interview with the Guardian today, the former vice-president calls himself a …

Is Ahmadinejad Giving Germany's Far-Right Free Propaganda?  —  Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has continued his ranting about whether the Holocaust happened, this time in an interview with SPIEGEL magazine.  Also, Friday's Berlin stabbing spree is a reminder to World Cup visitors …

The Catastrophe Wasn't Katrina  —  The evidence, by now, is overwhelming: Beautiful, decadent New Orleans wasn't doomed by Hurricane Katrina but by decades of human incompetence and neglect.  As far as the drowned city is concerned, the greatest natural disaster in the nation's history …

Clinton Is A Politician Not Easily Defined  —  Hillary Rodham Clinton has fashioned a political persona that generates intense passions but defies easy characterization.  She is viewed as a hawk on Iraq and national security, stamped as a big-government Democrat for her work on health care in the 1990s …

Nation splits 4 ways on illegals  —  WASHINGTON — Americans hold strong and conflicting views about immigration that underscore the difficulties Congress will face in reaching a final legislative deal on the issue, an analysis of USA TODAY polling data shows.  —  ON DEADLINE: Which group are you in?

"We Are Determined"  —  SPIEGEL: Mr. President, you are a soccer fan and you like to play soccer.  Will you be sitting in the stadium in Nuremberg on June 11, when the Iranian national team plays against Mexico in Germany?  —  Ahmadinejad: It depends.  Naturally, I'll be watching the game in any case.

Greenpeace's fill-in-the-blank public relations meltdown  —  Before President Bush touched down in Pennsylvania Wednesday to promote his nuclear energy policy, the environmental group Greenpeace was mobilizing.  —  "This volatile and dangerous source of energy" is no answer to the country's energy needs …

Raiding Congress  —  The Justice Department went overboard in raiding Rep. Jefferson's office.  —  With the separation of powers, the Founders created a system with inevitable tension between Congress and the executive.  Congress has been the biggest offender in stealing power from the executive …

Lecturers back boycott of Israeli academics  —  Britain's largest lecturers' union yesterday voted in favour of a boycott of Israeli lecturers and academic institutions who do not publicly dissociate themselves from Israel's "apartheid policies".  —  Delegates at the annual conference …

Batwoman hero returns as lesbian  —  Comic book heroine Batwoman is to make a comeback as a "lipstick lesbian" who moonlights as a crime fighter, a DC Comics spokesman has confirmed.  —  Batwoman - real name Kathy Kane - will appear in 52, a year-long DC Comics publication that began this month.

EU court annuls data deal with US  —  The European Court of Justice has annulled an EU-US agreement requiring airlines to transfer passenger data to the US authorities.  —  The court said the decision to hand over the data, including addresses and credit card details, lacked an "appropriate legal basis".

Lead figure in phone jam to advise GOP contenders  —  Charles McGee back to work after prison  —  May 29.  —  major figure in the Election Day phone-jamming scandal that embarrassed and nearly bankrupted the New Hampshire GOP is out of prison and back in the political game.

Car bombs, mortars leave 40 dead in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Car bombs and mortar attacks killed at least 40 people Tuesday across Iraq as the government struggled with deteriorating security, while a man who allegedly confessed to hundreds of beheadings has been captured, officials said.

After Fence Assault, Anti-War Port Mob Eats Pepper Spray  —  Sadly, the young protesters had to dunk their heads in Puget Sound after their encounter with pepper spray.  —  Thurston County Sheriff's deputies holds protesters to the ground after clearing the entry to the Port of Olympia on Wednesday afternoon.