Pluto gets the boot  —  Pluto no longer a planet, say astronomers  —  PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) — Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight.

Some in G.O.P. Say Iran Threat Is Played Down  —  Some senior Bush administration officials and top Republican lawmakers are voicing anger that American spy agencies have not issued more ominous warnings about the threats that they say Iran presents to the United States.

FDA Eases Limits on Plan B Sales  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Women may buy the morning-after pill without a prescription - but only with proof they're 18 or older, federal health officials ruled Thursday, capping a contentious 3-year effort to ease access to the emergency contraceptive.

A Matter of Appearances  —  When Judge Anna Diggs Taylor was given the job of deciding whether the Bush administration's wiretapping program was unconstitutional, she certainly understood that she would be ruling on one of the most politically charged cases in recent history.

In New Method for Stem Cells, Viable Embryos  —  Biologists have developed a technique for establishing colonies of human embryonic stem cells from an early human embryo without destroying it.  This method, if confirmed in other laboratories, would seem to remove the principal objection to the research.

General: Iran Training Shiite Insurgents  —  WASHINGTON — The Iranian government is training and equipping much of the Shiite insurgency in Iraq, a senior U.S. general said Wednesday, drawing one of the most direct links by the Pentagon.  —  Brig. Gen. Michael Barbero also said it was too soon …

Al Qaeda Comes to Gaza?  —  Christopher Isham Reports:  —  Terrorism analysts say al Qaeda may have conducted their first operation in Gaza.  This after a video was released today of the two Fox News journalists held hostage since August 14 along with an accompanying written statement issued …

Is John McCain Running in '08 From a Third Party?  —  ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DEGREES!  —  What do Air America Radio, Barack Obama's Senate campaign, the Clinton Global Initiative, Democratic gubernatorial candidate John DeStefano in Connecticut, the campaign of Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm in Michigan …

Rice Orders Difficult Posts Filled First  —  New Rules Will Push Foreign Service Officers Toward More Dangerous Spots  —  The State Department plans to implement sweeping changes in the way foreign service officers bid for new assignments in an effort to more quickly fill vacancies in Iraq …

Careers and Marriage  —  Forbes.com published a story Aug. 22 by editor Michael Noer on two-career relationships that provoked a heated response from both outside and inside our building.  Elizabeth Corcoran, a member of our Silicon Valley bureau and principal author of the magazine's current cover story …

Relearning Lessons in the War on Terror  —  From the recent Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon to the jihadists in Iraq's Sunni Triangle to the repeated efforts by Islamists across the globe to trump Sept. 11, what old lessons about terrorism are we in the West finding ourselves having to relearn?

A Rave Against the Mullahs!  —  Iranian youth throw a rave party!  —  You really must play this New Nami single "Faryaad" while checking out these Iranian party pictures just to get a feel for things, HERE … Pictures from a Chaharshanbeh-Souri Celebration in Iran.