Exclusive Book Excerpt: How an Al-Qaeda Cell Planned a Poison-gas Attack on the N.Y. Subway  —  The plot was called off by Bin Laden's No. 2 only 45 days from zero hour, according to a new book by Ron Suskind  —  Al-Qaeda terrorists came within 45 days of attacking the New York subway system …

My Unwitting Role in the Rove 'Scoop'  —  The May 13 story on the Web site Truthout.org was explosive: Presidential adviser Karl Rove had been indicted by Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald in connection with his role in leaking CIA officer Valerie Plame's name to the media, it blared.

'Star Trek' Fans, Deprived of a Show, Recreate the Franchise on Digital Video  —  MASON NECK STATE PARK, Va. — Paul Sieber was wearing a "Star Trek" uniform in the deep Virginia woods when he found himself surrounded by a leathery-looking gang.  —  Fortunately, the ruffians were dressed up as Klingons …

Diary of a Soldier's Wife: Tie-Dye and Camo Don't Mix  —  MY husband is like the Lone Ranger: he leaves a trail of bullets in his wake.  Not silver bullets, but gold 9 millimeters, orange "simunitions" and menacing hollow-points with bronze tips.  —  I find them at the bottom of the washing machine …

2 Missing U.S. Soldiers Are Sought in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 17 — American soldiers on Saturday went house to house, scanned the streets from helicopters and dove into irrigation canals to try to find two of their comrades who had been reported captured by insurgents in an ambush south of the capital.

How Hastert benefited from sale  —  Planned highway could sweeten asset near Plano  —  The complex structure of a real estate transaction in Kendall County last December left House Speaker Dennis Hastert with a seven-figure profit and in prime position to reap further benefits …

Pardon talk for Libby begins  —  WASHINGTON — Now that top White House aide Karl Rove is off the hook in the CIA leak probe, President George W. Bush must weigh whether to pardon former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the only one indicted in the three-year investigation.

10 workers kidnapped from Baghdad bakery  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen seized 10 workers from a bakery Sunday in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, while a car bomb exploded near a university in the northern city of Mosul, killing a woman and wounding 19 other people, police said.

Horror show reveals Iraq's descent  —  A morgue's grim scenes testify to a disintegrating nation, says Hala Jaber in Baghdad  —  THE morning rush had begun at the health ministry's morgue in Baghdad, and by 9.30am last Thursday 36 coffins already lined the street outside.

Obama's Profile Has Democrats Taking Notice  —  Popular Senator Is Mentioned as 2008 Contender  —  EAST ORANGE, N.J. — Barack Obama was standing before a packed high school auditorium when he noticed a familiar face in the crowd — none other than singer Dionne Warwick.

9/11 Commission: Somalia Retreat Inspired Bin Laden  —  From National Review's Media Blog: … The author, Stephen Spruiell, goes on to cite the Frontline story "Hunting Bin Laden" to demonstrate how the pullout of Somalia may have inspired Bin Laden.  —  But we don't need to take PBS's word for it.

Ayatollah's grandson calls for US overthrow of Iran  —  The grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, the inspiration of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, has broken a three-year silence to back the United States military to overthrow the country's clerical regime.  —  Hossein Khomeini's call …

Bill Clinton decries 'divisive' politics  —  LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton said Saturday that, if he returns to the White House in 2008 because his wife becomes president, his role would be to "do whatever she wants" because that's what a good citizen would do.

'He was the first and closest target' … Paul Schrum wanted to see X-Men: The Last Stand, but his wife wasn't interested in the film.  So on Thursday evening- which is her night for mah-jongg with friends - he hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, and headed off to a multiplex up the road in Owings Mills.