HRW: We can't contradict IDF findings  —  While sticking to its demand for the establishment of an independent inquiry into a blast on a Gaza beach 10 days ago that killed seven Palestinian civilians, the Human Rights Watch conceded Monday night for the first time since the incident …

Returning to "06 cr 128"  —  What will follow will be a rather frank discussion of our reporting of and involvement in the Rove indictment matter.  If you like simple answers or quick resolutions, turn back now.  This is our report to our readership.  Our primary sources for this report …

Justices Divided on Protections Over Wetlands  —  WASHINGTON, June 19 — The Supreme Court on Monday came close to rolling back one of the country's fundamental environmental laws, issuing a fractured decision that, while likely to preserve vigorous federal enforcement of the law …

Frothy Junior  —  Yee Haw!  The Codpiece is back with a vengeance!  And guess who can't keep his grubby little hands away from it.  You guessed it: Joe Klein.  —  Via John Amato: … That's right.  Bush is stuck in the mid-30's, his brain narrowly escaped indictment and he had to mount …

Race for the Muddle  —  Left?  Right?  Whatever.  He (or she) who would be France's next president plays to the messy middle.  —  Christian Hartmann / AP / AP  —  Mme President?  Royal has a stratospheric 73 percent approval rating  —  By Michael Meyer and Christopher Dickey

Anti-Americanism's Deep Roots  —  The Current Wave of Hostility Will Ebb.  But This Is About More Than the Iraq War.  —  I recently took part in a panel discussion in London about civil conflict and "failed states" around the world, centered on the interesting work of the British economist Paul Collier.

SHILL TO HACK  —  June 18, 2006 — Jerome Armstrong, the political strategist who followed a famous Internet fundraising effort for Howard Dean in 2004 with a book on "people-powered politics," has a sordid past as a shill for a worthless dot-com stock.  —  Armstrong, 42, touted …

Cheney Sees Success in Warding Off Attacks  —  Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that aggressive U.S. action is responsible for preventing new terror attacks since the Sept. 11 strikes.  —  "Nobody can promise that we won't be hit," Cheney said.  But he credited a determined offense …

Rice warns North Korea on missile test  —  WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned North Korea on Monday it will face consequences if it test-fires a missile thought to be powerful enough to reach the West Coast of the United States.  —  "It would be a very serious matter and …

Poll: Clinton gets high 'no' vote for 2008  —  Respondents also ranked who they were likely to vote for  —  (CNN) — With the presidential election more than two years away, a CNN poll released Monday suggests that nearly half of Americans would "definitely vote against" Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Interview: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  —  This month, Rolling Stone ran an investigative feature claiming that Republicans used a systematic combination of voter disenfranchisement and fraud, centered in Ohio, to rob John Kerry of a win in the 2004 presidential election.

Media ignore memo from U.S. Embassy on deteriorating situation in Iraq … On Page B1 of its June 18 edition, The Washington Post published a cable sent to Washington, D.C., from the U.S. Embassy in Iraq that detailed the deteriorating conditions, increased sectarian tensions and heightened dangers observed in Baghdad in recent months.

New US church leader says homosexuality no sin  —Text+WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Newly elected leader of the U.S. Episcopal Church Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said on Monday she believed homosexuality was no sin and homosexuals were created by God to love people of the same gender.

Taleban use children as shields to fight British  —  TALEBAN fighters used women and children as human shields as they tried to escape into the mountains of Afghanistan, British troops claimed yesterday.  —  The tactics were revealed in the first account by those who fought …

Federal contracts up 86% under Bush; Halliburton rises 600%  —  Top contractor Lockheed got contracts larger than budget of Congress, Dept. of Interior  —  WASHINGTON — A new report claims that a "shadow government" of federal contractors has exploded in size over the last five years.

Banned  —  Schoolgirls are forced to take off chastity rings - or be ordered out of lessons  —  It is only a band of silver, imprinted with a Bible verse, worn by a schoolgirl.  —  But the decision by one of the country's top state schools to ban American-style 'purity rings' …

Rather eyes exit after 44-year CBS run  —  NEW YORK — CBS is expected to announce Tuesday that former "CBS Evening News" anchor Dan Rather will leave the company after 44 years at the network.  —  Rather's contract runs through November but he is expected to leave the network immediately to pursue other opportunities.