Lebanon's 'real' soldiers are put in their place  —  TODAY was supposed to be the day when the muchmaligned army of Lebanon took control of its borders and policed the UN ceasefire.  —  Instead, its military commanders were left humiliated and its troops stranded as Hezbollah told them not to try to disarm its fighters.

Republicans Weigh Push For Tougher Terror Laws  —  Expansion of Surveillance  —  A Key Part of New Strategy;  —  Chertoff Is Leading Charge  —  WASHINGTON — Following the foiled United Kingdom bomb plot, the Bush administration is expected to use the terrorist threat to regain …

For GOP, Bad Gets Worse in Northeast  —  Incumbents Shy From Party and President  —  PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. — When it comes to President Bush and the Republican Congress, Rep. Jim Gerlach says voters in his suburban Philadelphia district are in a "sour mood."  —  That's why when it comes …

NYT: As weeks wore on, Bush Administration began to doubt Israel could win an outright military victory in Lebanon  —  As the weeks "wore on," the Bush Administration began to doubt that Israel could win an outright military victory in Lebanon, according to an early version of an article published in Monday's New York Times.

The View From the Top  —  A former Bush adviser on 9/11, Iraq and the lessons of five tumultuous years-for the president and the public.  —  Five Washington Augusts ago, for me, is not just a different time; it is a distant country.  At the White House, we debated the nuances of stem-cell research.

The Bush administration's chosen journalists — Sean Hannity and Pam "Atlas"  —  The Bush administration has adopted an array of tactics to control the news, from threatening journalists with criminal prosecution to paying pundits and manufacturing and distributing propaganda videos disguised as taped news segments.

Voters Must Beware of Republicans' Terrorism Trap  —  LOS ANGELES —  This is not about the war in Iraq.  —  It has nothing to do with Joe Lieberman.  —  This is the Republican trap.  —  Don't fall in.  —  "They have tried to keep it together — they have to make it one in people's minds …

IF YOU'RE A MUSLIM - IT'S YOUR PROBLEM  —  WHEN will the Muslims of Britain stand up to be counted?  —  When will they declare, loud and clear, with no qualifications or quibbles about Britain's foreign policy, that Islamic terrorism is WRONG?  —  Most of all, when will the Muslim community …

Official's Tax Break: on Firm Ground?  —  Rep. Miller has avoided paying millions on real estate profits.  He says the sales were forced; cities' officials dispute that.  —  When U.S. Rep. Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar) sold 165 acres to the city of Monrovia in 2002, he made a profit of more than $10 million …

Part 1: The kidnapping  —  An interview with an Iraqi politician turns deadly.  —  My chief captor had an idea about how to prod the US government into action: another video.  —  He said this one would be different, and left.  —  I turned to the two guards sitting on cushions a few feet away and started to panic.

Passport photograph of girl's bare shoulders rejected 'as it may offend'  —  A five-year-old girl's passport application was rejected because her photograph showed her bare shoulders.  —  Hannah Edwards's mother, Jane, was told that the exposed skin might be considered offensive in a Muslim country.

A War of Escalating Errors  —  Israelis and their foes are swinging wildly — and missing their targets.  —  'Never interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake," runs Napoleon's famous dictum, and were either the Israeli government or the groups that are leading the Palestinian people …

Gender Gap Worries Educators  —  Girls Outperform Boys In Reading, Writing  —  While black, Hispanic and low-income children again lagged far behind others on statewide mastery test scores, another group of students also remained mired in a chronic - though often less noticed - achievement gap.

Pakistani Charity Under Scrutiny in Plot  —  British and Pakistani investigators are trying to determine whether the group of Britons suspected of plotting to blow up as many as 10 commercial airliners may have received money raised for earthquake relief by a Pakistani charity that is a front for an Islamic militant group.

Which Travelers Have 'Hostile Intent'?  Biometric Device May Have the Answer  —  At airport security checkpoints in Knoxville, Tenn. this summer, scores of departing passengers were chosen to step behind a curtain, sit in a metallic oval booth and don headphones.