Milking it?  —  Certainly, the photographs are distressing, and indeed they are meant to be.  As this piece tells us: … But the photographers, it seems, are not too fussy about how they go about "adding to the shock value".  These two sequences illustrate the extent to which photographers …

Jewish groups call for hate-crime probe on Mel Gibson  —  JEWISH groups have demanded Mel Gibson be investigated for hate crimes after the Hollywood star allegedly made anti-Semitic comments to US police officers when he was stopped on suspicion of drink-driving and speeding.

Slips Imperil Senate Career  —  As Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman flew home from Iraq last November, his wife urged him to sleep.  But an energized Lieberman worked his Blackberry, typing an account of the progress he saw in Iraq.  —  His upbeat article would be published in the Wall Street Journal under …

Olmert: Deep regret over civilians' death  —  (VIDEO) Following grave incident in Lebanese village of Qana, in which more than 50 people were killed, prime minister expresses his regret but makes it clear fighting will not stop.  'Hizbullah, like entire Muslim terror, threatens entire western civilization.

Bellevue woman killed in shooting identified  —  Pam Waechter, 58, 'had this great droll wit'  —  Family friends today confirmed the woman killed in Friday's shooting spree at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle buiding was Pam Waechter, of Bellevue, the federation's annual campaign director.

Even Churchill Couldn't Figure Out Iraq  —  The Bush Administration has created such a mess in Iraq that despairing military strategists are talking about drastic, flawed measures such as taking sides or partitioning Baghdad  —  There is something very sinister to my mind in this mesopotamian entanglement …

'The Putting of First Things First'  —  The revival of the romance of the antiwar left is a potential disaster for the Democrats.  It's what gave the world Richard Nixon in 1968.  —  To the consternation of my children, I once spent an afternoon with Monica Lewinsky.

Romney apologizes for use of expression  —  To some, `tar baby' is racial pejorative  —  Governor Mitt Romney yesterday apologized for using the expression ``tar baby" — a phrase some consider a racial epithet — among comments he made at a political gathering in Iowa over the weekend.

The Qana Massacre, Part II  —  Israeli war planes scored a direct hit on a building in the Shiite village of Qana where destitute farming folk, including old people, women and children, had taken refuge in the basement from Israeli bombing raids.  At least 60 are dead, as bodies are pulled …

Same-Sex Marriage Wins by Losing  —  THERE were community meetings in Seattle on Wednesday.  Some of the couples who had sued to overturn Washington's ban on same-sex marriage, a case they lost before the state's Supreme Court earlier that day, were going to appear.

As a Tactic, Starving Is Found Wanting  —  SADDAM HUSSEIN ended his 19-day hunger strike last Wednesday with a meal of beef, rice and Coca-Cola, but he had little to show for his starvation.  Iraqis in particular, living day-to-day with brutal sectarian violence, viewed Mr. Hussein's self-sacrifice as an insult.

STRINGS IN COCKPIT  —  KATIE Couric had fellow passengers aboard a New York-bound jet on the warpath this week when, as their plane was about to taxi to the runway, she got out of her seat and begged the pilot to allow one of her late-arriving producers to board.  —  "It was like, 'Who the hell does she think she is?' "

Youngest son of Sen. John McCain joins Marine Corps  —  18-year-old likely to  —  July 30.  —  he youngest son of Sen. John McCain has joined the Marine Corps and could be deployed to a war zone in a matter of months, according to a magazine report.  —  Jimmy McCain, 18, will begin basic training in September.

Fooling the Voters  —  The two bills passed by the House last Friday and Saturday reflect a single Republican electoral strategy.  Representatives want to appear to have accomplished something when they face voters during their five-week summer break, which starts today …