GIs at Ishaqi Cleared; Haditha Probe Open  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A military investigation into allegations that U.S. troops intentionally killed Iraqi civilians in a March raid in a village north of Baghdad has cleared the troops of misconduct, two defense officials said Friday, despite dramatic video footage of slain children.

White House Opens Door To Dissenters  —  Aversion to Criticism Appears to Be Fading  —  When retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey criticized the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war three years ago, he was lambasted as an armchair general and deemed an adversary by the Pentagon.

Channel 5 reporter says ex punched her  —  Rough times for local TV reporter Kathleen Walter.  —  Walter, 32, a main on-the-scene face for WPTV-Channel 5, says she was a recent victim of domestic violence.  —  "I wouldn't wish this experience on anyone," she said.

Eight Oil Workers Abducted From Rig Off Nigeria  —  Armed rebels raided an oil drilling rig 40 miles off the Nigerian coast early today and kidnapped eight foreign oil workers, in the latest of a string of violent incidents meant to disrupt oil production in the country's oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Cops: Couple ordered hit on grandkids  —  Wanted to stop testimony at son's rape trial, police say  —  TAVARES, Florida (AP) — A couple tried to hire a hit man to kill their three grandchildren and daughter-in-law to stop them from testifying against their son in his rape trial, authorities said.

Kerry Attacks Bush Over Iraq Policies  —  The administration's choice of confrontation instead of diplomacy has harmed the U.S., the senator says in a speech in Los Angeles.  —  Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) harshly criticized the Bush administration for "disdaining diplomacy" …

Documents show issues with wives, child support  —  Republican Jim Galley, who is running for Congress as a "pro-traditional family" candidate, was married to two women at the same time, defaulted on his child support payments and has been accused of abuse by one of his ex-wives.

Rise of Lobbyist Shines a Light on House Ties  —  WASHINGTON, June 2 — Letitia Hoadley White arrived on Capitol Hill 25 years ago as a 22-year-old receptionist with a bachelor's degree in fashion design, fresh from a job at Women's Wear Daily.  —  When her boss, Representative Jerry Lewis …

Pilot Fights Black Snake Stowaway on Plane  —  CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Monty Coles was 3,000 feet in the air when he discovered a stowaway peeking out at him from the plane's instrument panel — a 4 1/2-foot black snake.  —  Coles had left Charleston earlier for a leisurely flight …

Opus Dei's Box-Office Triumph  —  AS a member of Opus Dei, I would like to thank Dan Brown and Ron Howard for "The Da Vinci Code."  Why am I not outraged like so many other devout Roman Catholics?  Because I think we could not have wished for a better result: critics attack the film (and …