Russia kills most-wanted warlord  —  MOSCOW, Russia — Russia's most wanted man, Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, has been killed in an operation by special forces, the state security chief told President Vladimir Putin on Monday.  —  FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev said Basayev …

Japan considers strike against N. Korea  —  TOKYO - Japan said Monday it was considering whether a pre-emptive strike on the North's missile bases would violate its constitution, signaling a hardening stance ahead of a possible U.N. Security Council vote on Tokyo's proposal for sanctions against the regime.

Inside Higher Ed: "We are as fair as we can bring ourselves to be"  —  For those of you who haven't seen this Inside Higher Ed piece, take a look.  Then blink, and look again.  —  Does the story as it appears at Inside Higher Ed match the version of events we all watched unfold over the last few days?

The Kos Campaign  —  Liberal blogs like Daily Kos have made Joe Lieberman their first domino.  But without a bigger vision, they may be the ones who fall.  —  M  —  arkos Moulitsas Zúniga, founder and chief firebrand of the liberal blog Daily Kos, sounded weary in a post …

Hoekstra's Whistleblower?  —  Earlier, we surmised that the whistleblower that House Intelligence Chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) was referring to was NSA whistleblower Russ Tice.  Then we reconsidered.  —  Now another candidate has stepped forward: Dave Gaubatz.

New York building collapses, burns  —  Eleven injured; gas explosion appears to be cause  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — An explosion and fire leveled a residential building on New York's Upper East Side Monday morning, fire officials told CNN.  Eleven people were injured.

Cup of Irish Joe: Fair-Weather Friend to Democrats  —  When I initially heard that Joe Lieberman and Joe Biden would be appearing together in my hometown of Stamford, I had no interest in attending.  A friend of mine tried to RSVP for the event, though, and was told that it was open only to "Stamford Irish Democrats".

A Matter of Ethics...  I am an attorney by training and by my professional practice of the law for a number of years.  Although I am no longer practicing (this blog and motherhood taking up a substantial amount of my time), I do keep my mind in the game by reading a lot of the newer opinions …

Bringing the Church to the Courtroom  —  Christian Group Becomes Force in Major Legal Battles  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A 29-foot war memorial shaped like a cross should be allowed to remain on public land.  A teacher should be able to emphasize references to God in the Declaration of Independence.

As Israel fights, Europe starts to squirm  —  While Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the cabinet Sunday that Israel has maintained "a level of understanding and support" abroad for its military actions, the words "disproportionate use of force" and "collective punishment" …

Wake up, Democrats: Ideas and vision do matter  —  Just waiting for the Republicans to self-destruct is a losing strategy.  —  SOMETHING HAPPENS to a political party when it is not just out of power but has had to play on the home field of its opponents for a generation: It loses faith in itself and becomes scared.

Washington Whispers  —  It used to be "soccer moms" who held the key to elections.  Then it was the opinion of NASCAR dads that gave the best indicator of who would get elected, followed by the "investor class."  Now there's a new electoral predictor: the retail giant you prefer.

Marines Want Space Plane  —  Is a Space Ship One type space craft destined for military purposes?  According to the Marines, aye-sir!  Military.com's David Axe writes: … Artist's sketch of SUSTAIN insertion vehicle  —  The space insertion project, dubbed Hot Eagle, seems a bit far-fetched.

HPD, airport security at odds over incident  —  Man allowed to board aircraft appeared to have bomb components  —  Houston police and the federal Transportation Security Administration disagree over who is responsible for allowing a man with what appeared to be bomb components board an aircraft at Hobby Airport last week.