Justices Back Most G.O.P. Changes to Texas Districts  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld most of the Texas congressional map engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay but threw out part, saying some of the new boundaries failed to protect minority voting rights.

Terrorist funds-tracking no secret, some say  —  Cite White House boasts of tighter monitoring system  —  WASHINGTON — News reports disclosing the Bush administration's use of a special bank surveillance program to track terrorist financing spurred outrage in the White House and on Capitol Hill …

Insurgents offer to halt attacks in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Eleven Sunni insurgent groups have offered an immediate halt to all attacks — including those on American troops — if the United States agrees to withdraw foreign forces from Iraq in two years, insurgent and government officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Staying the wrong course in Iraq  —  A troop drawdown would lead to less security and further the perception that the U.S. is losing.  —  FOR THE LAST three years, the Bush administration has pursued a policy of wishful thinking in Iraq, operating under the hope that some deus ex machina …

'Mashaal is target for assassination'  —  Justice Minister Haim Ramon said Wednesday that Hamas's Syria-based leader, Khaled Mashaal, is a target for assassination for ordering the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip.  —  "He is definitely in our sights ... he is a target," Ramon told Army Radio.

A SWIFT Kick in the Head  —  When asked to back up the White House accusation that a recent New York Times story put American lives at risk by disclosing vital secrets to terrorists, the best press secretary Tony Snow could do yesterday was this: "I am absolutely sure they didn't know about SWIFT."

Home Fly-By Sends Message to Syrian Leader  —  Israeli warplanes buzzed the summer residence of Syrian President Bashar Assad early Wednesday, military officials said, in a message aimed at pressuring the Syrian leader to win the release of a captured Israeli soldier.

Obama: Democrats Must Court Evangelicals  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Barack Obama chastised fellow Democrats on Wednesday for failing to "acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people," and said the party must compete for the support of evangelicals and other churchgoing Americans.

Scientists OK Gore's Movie for Accuracy  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's top climate scientists are giving "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore's documentary on global warming, five stars for accuracy.  —  The former vice president's movie - replete with the prospect of a flooded New York City …

Democrats More Eager to Vote, But Unhappy with Party  —  Gay Marriage, Inheritance Tax Among the Lowest Public Priorities  —  Summary of Findings  —  With less than five months to go before Election Day, Democrats hold two distinct advantages in the midterm campaign that they have not enjoyed for some time.

Bush Calls on Senate to Pass Line-Item Veto  —  President Bush pushed the Senate yesterday to give him and his successors the power to strip special projects out of spending bills, part of a broader political effort to assuage disaffected supporters that he really is a fiscal conservative despite the growth of government on his watch.

GOP's New `values Agenda' Item Fails  —  House Republicans failed Wednesday to advance a bill protecting the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Only a day earlier, the GOP had placed the measure on its "American Values Agenda" in hopes of bolster the party's prospects in the fall election.

Indiana Jones?  No, it's Weldon  —  It's a scene out of an Indiana Jones movie - or an Indiana Jones parody:  —  A caravan of jeeps and heavy equipment crawls across the Iraqi desert, headed for a secret location on the banks of the Euphrates River.  —  Their mission: to dig 25 feet …

Senate Rejects Flag Desecration Amendment  —  The Senate rejected by a single vote yesterday an effort to amend the Constitution to allow Congress to ban desecration of the American flag, after a two-day debate freighted with political calculations and sharp disputes over the limits of free speech.

Dean: 'We're About to Enter the '60s Again'  —  (CNSNews.com) - America is about to revisit one of the most turbulent decades in its history, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told a religious conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.  "We're about to enter the '60s again …

Commentary: Media provides cover for assault on traditional marriage  —  Editor's note: James C. Dobson is founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action.  He has a Ph.D. in child development and is author of the best-selling book, "Bringing Up Boys."  He's currently working on a follow-up, "Bringing Up Girls."