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.

Bush Re-Enters Gay Marriage Fight  —  Two Speeches Set Pressing Senate To Vote for a Ban  —  President Bush plans to wade back into the emotional debate over same-sex marriage for the first time in his second term beginning today with a pair of speeches pressing the Senate to approve …

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.

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.

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" …

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 …

Joe Volpe strongarms the Internet and erodes freedom of speech in Canada  —  Yesterday, a Joe Volpe parody site went up called YouthForVolpe.ca which lampooned the Liberal leadership candidate's drug money (ahem pharmaceutical donations) from children of Apotex execs.

NO TEACHER FOR TALIBAN MAN  —  In the category of "today's good news," we can report that Yale's Senior Appointments Committee voted down the appointment of Juan Cole to the faculty yesterday, and it wasn't even close.  Cole will not be appointed to the Yale faculty.

Libby to get limited classified info  —  WASHINGTON - A former White House aide facing perjury charges will get only a prosecutor's summary of classified documents assessing the damage to national security from the leak of a CIA officer's identity, a federal judge ruled Friday.