Did Bush commit war crimes?  —  Supreme Court's decision in Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld could expose officials to prosecution.  —  THE SUPREME Court on Thursday dealt the Bush administration a stinging rebuke, declaring in Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld that military commissions for trying terrorist suspects violate …

A note to our readers  —  On May 11, USA TODAY reported that the National Security Agency, with the cooperation of several of America's leading telecommunications companies, had compiled a database of domestic phone call records in an effort to monitor terrorist activity.

Sulzberger Responds to 'WSJ' Editorial Slamming the 'NYT'  —  NEW YORK After remaining mum for the past week, even as controversy swirled around newspapers' revealing the banking records surveillance program, the Wall Street Journal editoral page weighed in today.

Palestinian: Israel aims to topple gov't  —  GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Friday that Israel's offensive in Gaza — including the kidnappings of some of his Cabinet ministers — was part of a premeditated plan to bring down the Hamas-led government.

Foreign Policy Tries a Little Shake, Rattle and Roll  —  MEMPHIS, June 30— In the annals of international diplomacy, it was not exactly Yalta.  But today's visit to Graceland — the ticky-tacky Elvis Presley mansion here — by President Bush and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan brought …

Senate to Consider Stem Cell Proposals  —  Fertility Patients Could Donate Embryos  —  Senate leaders from both parties agreed yesterday to schedule a vote on a package of bills that would loosen President Bush's five-year-old restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research.

Superman eschews longtime patriot act  —  Nevermind Superman's sexual orientation.  Here's another identity-related question that is likely to spark controversy as the Man of Steel soars into theaters nationwide this Fourth of July weekend in Warner Bros.  Pictures' "Superman Returns": Is Superman still American?

SIEGEL V. BASEBALL CAPS:  —  There are few places on earth, as far as I'm concerned, where the light, especially in late afternoon, in summer, is more beautiful than on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  It's a river light, soft and gently diffused.  It gets delicately soaked into the sides of buildings …

Guardian finds Afghan witnesses US couldn't  —  Declan Walsh in Gardez  —  The US government said it could not find the men that Guantánamo detainee Abdullah Mujahid believes could help set him free.  The Guardian found them in three days.  —  Two years ago the US military invited Mr Mujahid …

Sept. 11 claim stirs UW probe  —  Instructor says U.S. planned the attacks to provoke war  —  mtwohey@journalsentinel.com  —  The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced Thursday that it would launch a review of an instructor who argues that the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks for its own benefit.

U.S. troops accused of killing Iraq family  —  BEIJI, Iraq - Five U.S. Army soldiers are being investigated for allegedly raping a young woman, then killing her and three members of her family in Iraq, a U.S. military official said Friday.  —  The soldiers also allegedly burned the body …

Kerik Pleads Guilty for Gifts and a Loan  —  Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner, pleaded guilty today to two misdemeanor charges as the result of accepting tens of thousands of dollars of gifts and a loan while he was a city official in the late 1990's.

US, Iraqi forces clash with Shi'ite militia  —  BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi and U.S. troops battled Shi'ite militiamen in a village northeast of Baghdad on Thursday, and witnesses and police said U.S. helicopters bombed orchards to flush out gunmen hiding there.

Bin Laden Hails Slain Zarqawi As 'Lion'  —  Osama bin Laden praised slain al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al- Zarqawi as the "lion of holy war" in a new videotape posted on the Internet on Friday.  —  The 19-minute message shows an old still photo of bin Laden in a split-screen next …

House lifts offshore drilling ban  —  WASHINGTON - Congress has taken a major step toward allowing oil and gas drilling in coastal waters that have been off limits for a quarter-century.  —  Still, a battle looms in the Senate over the issue.  And the Bush administration's support for the legislation …