Tide of Arab Opinion Turns to Support for Hezbollah  —  DAMASCUS, Syria, July 27 — At the onset of the Lebanese crisis, Arab governments, starting with Saudi Arabia, slammed Hezbollah for recklessly provoking a war, providing what the United States and Israel took as a wink and a nod to continue the fight.

Pander and Run  —  After years of struggling to define their own approach to post-Sept. 11 foreign policy, Democrats seem finally to have hit on one.  It's called pandering.  In those rare cases when George W. Bush shows genuine sensitivity to America's allies and propounds a broader …

Detainee Abuse Charges Feared  —  An obscure law approved by a Republican-controlled Congress a decade ago has made the Bush administration nervous that officials and troops involved in handling detainee matters might be accused of committing war crimes, and prosecuted at some point in U.S. courts.

Republicans Near a Vote to Increase U.S. Wage  —  WASHINGTON, July 27 — Under intense pressure from their moderate wing, House Republican leaders moved on Thursday toward allowing a vote Friday on an increase in the minimum wage before sending anxious lawmakers home for a month of campaigning in the battle for control of Congress.

A Time To Act  —  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's just-concluded trip to Lebanon, Israel and Rome was an exercise in grace, bravery and, to my regret, wrongly focused diplomacy.  Especially disappointing is the fact that she resisted all suggestions that the first order of business …

How critical is the Los Angeles Times' condition?  —  A picture, or better yet, a graph, is worth a thousand words.  —  As you can see, in 1970, nearly 1 out of 6 people living in the L.A. basin subscribed to the Los Angeles Times everyday.  While the population has multiplied almost 70% in the 35 years …

Ned Lamont Comes to Suffield  —  My wife the registered Democrat and I decided, since a political event was actually taking place near us, to go to Suffield High School and see Ned Lamont speak tonight.  —  The high school is only a few years old.  I actually taught as a substitute …

Cindy Sheehan Buys Property in Crawford  —  War protester Cindy Sheehan has purchased a 5-acre plot in Crawford with some of the insurance money she received after her son was killed in Iraq.  —  The group she helps lead, Gold Star Families for Peace, says on its Web site that it will return next month …

Execution of a teenage girl  —  A television documentary team has pieced together details surrounding the case of a 16-year-old girl, executed two years ago in Iran.  —  On 15 August, 2004, Atefah Sahaaleh was hanged in a public square in the Iranian city of Neka.

Wife, Friend Tie Congressman to Consulting Firm  —  Company's Clients Say They Get Access to Va. Republican  —  Two months before Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) became chairman of the powerful House Government Reform Committee in January 2003, one of his close friends formed ICG Government …

Poll: Johnson has lead over McKinney  —  A new poll by Insider Advantage shows challenger Hank Johnson with a hefty lead over incumbent Cynthia McKinney in the Democratic run-off for the 4th District congressional race.  —  The poll shows Johnson leading McKinney, 46 to 21 percent, with a third of voters undecided.

Christians Fleeing Lebanon Denounce Hezbollah  —  TYRE, Lebanon, July 27 — The refugees from southern Lebanon spilled out of packed cars into the dark street here Thursday evening, gulping bottles of water and squinting in the glare of the headlights to find family members and friends.