Morning-after pill to be available without prescription  —  Buyers must prove they're 18 or older  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Women can buy the morning-after pill without a prescription, the government declared Thursday, a major step that nevertheless failed to quell the politically charged debate over access to emergency contraception.

New Orleans Mayor Takes Swipe At NYC  —  Nagin Cites Failure To Rebuild Ground Zero While Defending Katrina Clean-Up  —  (CBS) Confronted by accusations that he's taking too long to clean up his city after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin defended himself by remarking on New York City's failure to rebuild Ground Zero.

Wanted: Scarier Intelligence  —  The last thing this country needs as it heads into this election season is another attempt to push the intelligence agencies to hype their conclusions about the threat from a Middle Eastern state.  —  That's what happened in 2002, when the administration engineered …

Files From Duke Rape Case Give Details but No Answers  —  DURHAM, N.C. — On March 21, a week after an African-American woman charged that she had been raped by three white Duke University lacrosse players, the police sergeant supervising the investigation met with the sexual-assault nurse …

Inquiry Opened Into Israeli Use of U.S. Bombs  —  The State Department is investigating whether Israel's use of American-made cluster bombs in southern Lebanon violated secret agreements with the United States that restrict when it can employ such weapons, two officials said.

Joe Down Low On Ballot  —  Two weeks after losing the Democratic primary, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman has qualified for a place on the November ballot as a petitioning candidate, the secretary of the state said Wednesday.  —  But on a ballot crowded with at least five Senate candidates …

Hezbollah Didn't Win  —  Arab writers are beginning to lift the veil on what really happened in Lebanon.  —  The way much of the Western media tells the story, Hezbollah won a great victory against Israel and the U.S., healed the Sunni-Shiite rift, and boosted the Iranian mullahs' claim to leadership of the Muslim world.

Rep. Schmidt's marathon ad questioned  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio - Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt is fast, capable of running a marathon in 3 hours, 19 minutes, 6 seconds.  —  At least that's what a photo on the Ohio congresswoman's Web site shows.  —  No way, says a rival who contends that the picture …

Ann Coulter gets her freak on  —  Whenever Ann is faced with the reality that Osama hasn't been caught yet by this administration-well-Poor Ann.  Kirsten Powers actually responds to Coulter's ridiculous line that Afghanistan is going swimmingly and brings up the fact that Osama is still alive and well.

Pamela Bone: Muslim sisters need our help  —  If she is dubbed right-wing for expressing solidarity with women in Islamic countries, the author doesn't mind wearing the label  —  IN Tehran in June, several thousand people held a peaceful demonstration calling for legal changes that would give …

Slumber Party  —  HOW CAN WE STOP OUR TEENAGE SON FROM SLEEPING AT HIS GIRLFRIEND'S HOUSE?  —  Get "Dear Prudence" delivered to your inbox each week; click here to sign up.  Please send your questions for publication to .  (Questions may be edited.)  —  Dear Prudence,  —  What do you do when values clash?

British Leave Iraqi Base; Militia Supporters Jubilant  —  Some Troops Will Reposition to Border With Iran  —  British troops abandoned a major base in southern Iraq on Thursday and prepared to wage guerrilla warfare along the Iranian border to combat weapons smuggling …

Wal-Mart Gets Communist Branch in China  —  SHANGHAI, China (AP) — Wal-Mart, capitalist retailer for the masses, now has its own Communist Party branch.  —  Earlier this month, Communist Party and Communist Youth League branches and a trade union were set up at a Wal-Mart outlet …

Obituaries in the news: 'Sharona' drummer Bruce Gary  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bruce Gary, the rock drummer who worked with George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Stephen Stills but is best known as The Knack's original drummer on "My Sharona," has died.  He was 55.  —  Gary died Tuesday …

Mean Streets  —  So in the last few days WaPo ran a story asserting that "the debate is over" and the Iraqi Civil War is officially raging, and the NYT ran a story claiming that "by almost all measures," Iraq's insurgency is getting worse.  So how is it that people in Baghdad are telling ABC News …

HOWARD DEAN CRITICIZES GEORGE ALLEN, HIMSELF  —  On yesterday's Hardball, Democratic Chairman Howard Dean insulted Senator George Allen, saying he doesn't "think [Allen] belongs in public service."  The voters of Virginia have disagreed with Howard Dean every time George Allen has run for office …