The ties that bind 17 suspects?  —  SURYA BHATTACHARYA, NASREEN GULAMHUSEIN AND HEBA ALY  —  In investigators' offices, an intricate graph plotting the links between the 17 men and teens charged with being members of a homegrown terrorist cell covers at least one wall.

Justices to Rule on Race and Education  —  WASHINGTON, June 5 — The Supreme Court agreed today to consider an issue of enormous importance to parents and educators across the country: the extent to which public school administrators can use racial factors in assigning children to schools.

Creating the Inevitable  —  The CIA visits Iraq in April 2002  —  The Bush Administration continues to claim that war against Iraq was always a last resort, but an overwhelming amount of evidence—such as the Downing Street Memo of July 2002, which said military action was "inevitable"—suggests otherwise.

An Upbeat Rumsfeld and Vietnam Agree to Broaden Ties  —  HANOI, June 5 — The United States and Vietnam agreed today to increase their military contacts and to discuss additional ways to broaden their defense cooperation, American officials said.  —  The understanding was sealed …

The Hell of War  —  Why Haditha isn't My Lai.  —  Unjust though the assumption may prove to be, let us imagine that the Marines of Kilo Company did indeed crack up and cut loose in Haditha that day.  Something like this has certainly been waiting to happen.

Jose Padilla Alleges Witness Statements Obtained Through Torture  —  Lawyers for Jose Padilla have filed a motion to suppress evidence and statements in his federal terrorism case.  He alleges that the FBI failed to advise the Court in its 2002 affidavit for his arrest as a material witness …

President Discusses Marriage Protection Amendment  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all.  Please be seated.  Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House.  It is a pleasure to be with so many fine community leaders, scholars, family organizations, religious leaders, Republicans, Democrats, independents.

House at Stake, Midterm Election Gets Early Start  —  WASHINGTON, June 5 — Congressional campaigns have begun early and with unusual intensity this year in many districts across the country, reflecting a consensus in both parties that Republicans could lose control of the House and perhaps the Senate.

Intelligence behind raid was wrong, officials say  —  Vikram Dodd, Sandra Laville and Richard Norton-Taylor  —  Senior counter-terrorism officials now believe that the intelligence that led to the raid on a family house last Friday in a search for a chemical device about to be used …

Apocalypse tomorrow?  666 arrives  —  Is tomorrow's date — 6-6-6 — merely a curious number, or could it mean our number is up?  —  There's a devilishly odd nexus of theology, mathematics and commercialism on the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year.

Iraqis Accuse Marines in April Killing Of Civilian  —  Disabled Man's Family Disputes Troops' Story  —  BAGHDAD, June 4 — All parties to the case of Hashim Ibrahim Awad al-Zobaie agree that he was shot dead by Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment on April 26 in the small central Iraqi village of Hamdaniyah.

The 10 Most Dangerous Democratic Candidates In 2008  —  Just for the fun of it, I decided to put together a list of the Democratic candidates who'd have the best chance to beat a GOP nominee in 2008.  This list is based purely on electability, not on the likelihood the candidate will take the nomination.

Ex-President Wins in Peru in Stunning Comeback  —  LIMA, Peru, June 4 — Sixteen years after his presidency ended in economic collapse and heightened guerrilla violence, Alan García was elected president again on Sunday, completing one of Latin America's most astonishing political resurrections.

Lieberman faces showdown over Iraq  —  MERIDEN, Connecticut (Reuters) - After years of ardent support for the Iraq war, Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman (news, bio, voting record) could become that conflict's first big political casualty in a Democratic primary race fueled by rising anti-war anger.

In Brazen Roundup, 56 Vanish From Baghdad  —  BAGHDAD, June 5 — "Turn back," a friend told Haji Abu Shamaa as he walked Monday morning toward his money-changing shop in the Karkh neighborhood of central Baghdad, a mile north of the heavily guarded Green Zone.  "The Interior Ministry police are rounding up people."

Defining America Down  —  Many years from now, when historians look back on this period in our history, I fear that they will describe it as the moment when the idea of America lost its resonance in the world, when America became just another country.  —  I've traveled enough to know that America …

Chill out over global warming  —  You'll often hear the left lecture about the importance of dissent in a free society.  —  Why not give it a whirl?  —  Start by challenging global warming hysteria next time you're at a LoDo cocktail party and see what happens.  —  Admittedly, I possess virtually no expertise in science.

The wrong target  —  Terrorism, not America, is a real and present threat to our freedoms  —  Al-Haditha, a town on the Euphrates northwest of Baghdad, is still a place where fighters blend into the populace and literally use civilians as cover.  Coalition forces may shoot only when threatened …