Israel nearly triples troops in Lebanon  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israel staged wide-ranging airstrikes and sent commandos into the Hezbollah heartland Saturday as the United Nations raced to begin enforcing its new cease-fire blueprint and stop the heavy fighting still raging in southern Lebanon.

It's time for truth, not spin  —  First there was the aerial spin.  We'll attack, we'll bomb, we'll grind them into the dust.  The superiority of our planes will bring down the enemy, the precise weapons will defeat fanatic terror.  Therefore, there is no need for a ground effort, which is unpopular with the public.

Aircraft-Security Focus Swings to People  —  Spotting Dangerous Individuals Gains Supporters, but Remains Beset With Problems  —  Security officials trying to protect America's airliners face a twin battle: stopping bad stuff and stopping bad people.  —  Most of the focus has traditionally …

'Green Helmet' helps rescue the wounded  —  TYRE, Lebanon - After hours of digging in the blistering heat, Salam Daher emerged from the wreckage with the body of a 9-month-old baby, a blue pacifier still pinned to its nightshirt.  —  He held the infant up and, click, an Associated Press …

Pakistan nabs 17 in airplane terror plot  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani intelligence agents have arrested as many as 17 people, some of them British nationals and at least one with alleged ties to al-Qaida, in the plot to blow up jetliners flying from Britain to the United States.

Conservative group sets sights on Chafee  —  PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Fresh off their first victory over a Republican incumbent, GOP conservatives seeking party purity on taxes and spending are focused on ousting moderate Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island.

Bleeding-heart ignoramuses  —  A few weeks back it was my birthday, and my equally non-Jewish journalist friend Chas Newkey-Burden took his life in his hands and presented me with a cuddly toy.  Now, normally I feel that people who bother with cuddly toys over the age of eight are either mad …

Muslims urge Blair to end the violence  —  Tony Blair has been urged to change UK foreign policy and do more to end the violence in the Middle East.  —  A letter to the Prime Minister from some of Britain's most influential Muslims, which appears as a full-page advert in some national newspapers …

Increasingly, Bush Escapes the Media Pack  —  GREEN BAY, Wis. — On one of the scariest days yet in the five-year battle with terrorists, President Bush prepared to make a speech to reassure the American people.  But the White House press corps was 1,000 miles away in Texas.

Lamont aide to apologize for comment  —  WATERBURY, Conn. - Democrat Ned Lamont's campaign manager said he would apologize to the mayor of Waterbury for describing the city that backed his opponent, Sen. Joe Lieberman, as a place "where the forces of slime meet the forces of evil."

The West 100  —  Our list of the most powerful people in Southern California  —  1. Donald Bren  —  Chairman, Irvine Co.; 74, Newport Beach  —  Simply put, Orange County looks like Orange County—much of it uniformly manicured and catering to the high life and high tech—because of the influence of one man.

Americans will die for liberty  —  As we took off from London for New York a few days ago, our three over-excited children asked if there was any chance of the plane being blown up.  I explained that the likelihood of that happening was virtually zero, and wondered how we were going to maintain …