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.

Israel Accepts U.N. Deal  —  The Israeli cabinet voted Sunday to accept a U.N.-declared cease-fire, even as Israeli military forces and Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon launched some of their most intense barrages of the war in anticipation of the Monday morning deadline.

Chertoff: No U.S. Terror Link Seen  —  As DHS Lowers Threat Level, Chief Calls for Continued Vigilance  —  There is no evidence that terrorists were working within the United States as part of a plot to detonate explosives on airliners, but U.S. officials remain on guard after last week's arrests …

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 …

U.S. Shift Kicked Off Frantic Diplomacy at U.N.  —  A Bomb Shelter in Israel (left): In the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, Michal Nachmani, 16, lay in a bomb shelter on the ground floor of his family's apartment building Sunday as Hezbollah missiles exploded outside.

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.

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 …

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.

ATLAS INTERVIEWS JOHN BOLTON  —  **TOP THREAD** SCROLL FOR UPDATES AND NEW POSTS**  —  I had the enormous priviledge to sit down with John Bolton today and discuss at length the UNSC ceasefire, Israel, Hezb'Allah, the War on Islamofascism, Iran, August 22nd, the puppet government of Lebanon …

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.

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.

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.

Wimmin at War  —  It is 25 years since the Greenham Common protests began.  Sarah Baxter was there, but now asks why feminist ideals have become twisted into support for groups like Hezbollah  —  When Ann Pettitt, the mother of two young children, and her friends set off in August 25 years ago …

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 …