German Suitcase Bombs Were Primed to Go Off, Kill (Update2)  —  Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) — Two suitcases containing bottles of gasoline, propane gas and a detonating device that were found abandoned in German regional trains last month were bombs primed to go off and kill a ``high number'' of people, police said.

Officials: U.S. blocked missiles to Hezbollah  —  WASHINGTON — The United States blocked an Iranian cargo plane's flight to Syria last month after intelligence analysts concluded it was carrying sophisticated missiles and launchers to resupply Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, two U.S. intelligence officials say.

TV News Vultures Circling JonBenet's Corpse — Again  —  The top story on TV news last night was not the Iraq war or tentative Lebanon peace, or major court rulings on tobacco and warrantless wiretapping, or oil prices or pension "reform" or any of a dozen stories that affect millions of citizens.

Wal-Mart Image-Builder Resigns  —  The civil rights leader Andrew Young, who was hired by Wal-Mart to improve its public image, resigned from that post last night after telling an African-American newspaper that Jewish, Arab and Korean shop owners had "ripped off" urban communities for years …

New Limits Set Over Marketing for Cigarettes  —  A federal judge ordered strict new limitations on tobacco marketing on Thursday after finding that cigarette makers deserved to be punished for a decades-old conspiracy to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking.

Would Party Forgive Joe?  —  Lieberman Says Democrats Can Count On Him If He Wins; Vice Versa Is Iffy  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman says he'll stick with the Democrats if he wins his third-party re-election bid - but will the Democrats stick with him?

Israel alarm at UN force members  —  Israel says it would be "difficult if not inconceivable" to accept nations which do not recognise its right to exist as part of a UN force in Lebanon.  —  Israeli UN envoy Dan Gillerman was speaking after Indonesia and Malaysia, which do not recognise Israel, pledged troops for the UN deployment.

Flight passengers describe hours of bizarre behavior  —  A self-described peace activist responsible for the diversion of a London-to-Washington flight Wednesday acted bizarrely for hours, made references to al Qaeda and hijack training flights, and was restrained by two passengers after she urinated in the aisle.

Video provokes questions of Lebanese army  —  Lebanese forces move southward; Beirut airport reopens  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) — A video showing Lebanese soldiers cordially offering Israeli troops glasses of tea during the military offensive earlier this month has hit Israeli and Hezbollah airwaves.

7 Killed as Full-Scale Sectarian Fighting Rages in Baghdad  —  A car bombing in the Sadr City district of Baghdad killed at least seven people and wounded more than 20 on Thursday morning, the authorities said.  —  The blast was the latest of several recent attacks in the district …

Hagel awaits nation's mood  —  In the tenth August of his Senate career, this is a time of reflection for Chuck Hagel.  Decision time comes later, and it can wait.  —  Gliding above the green hills of northeastern Nebraska this week in a King Air bound from Norfolk to Sioux City, the shirtsleeved senator embraces the moment.

My Summer Reading Journal  —  George W. Bush reads Camus (as told to Julian Sanchez).  —  August 4: For my summer vacation, I decided to read The Stranger by Albert Camus (in American).  I decided this for a couple reasons.  For one, there was this other book Terror and Liberalism …

Texas GOP back Houston councilwoman  —  PEARLAND, Texas - Republican agreed Thursday to support a Houston city councilwoman as the write-in candidate on the November ballot in place of former House Majority leader Tom DeLay, who resigned from Congress in June amid allegations of money laundering.

Inquiry Suggests Marines Excised Files on Killings  —  A high-level military investigation into the killings of 24 Iraqis in Haditha last November has uncovered instances in which American marines involved in the episode appear to have destroyed or withheld evidence, according to two Defense Department officials briefed on the case.

The Post Editorial Board tell us how serious, high-minded people should talk about Presidential law-breaking  —  For the last four years, the Bush administration has deliberately violated multiple laws because it has adopted radical theories which vest law-breaking powers in the President.

It sounded so good to start with.  But where did it all go wrong, George?  —  "HOW'M I DOIN'?" was the question the quixotic Ed Koch used to ask New York's voters during Hizzoner's eleven turbulent years as the city's mayor.  For a man who governed the globe's most neurotic metropolis …