A Victory Lap for Broken Promises … One year ago as Katrina menaced the Gulf Coast, I'm ashamed to admit that selfish thoughts ruled my mind.  As I kept up with the news and weather reports, I wondered if I would ever again be able to visit the scene of so many semi-collegiate drunken nights …

Details Emerge in British Terror Case  —  On Aug. 9, in a small second-floor apartment in East London, two young Muslim men recorded a video justifying what the police say was their suicide plot to blow up trans-Atlantic planes: revenge against the United States and its "accomplices," Britain and the Jews.

Iran's leader calls for TV debate with Bush  —  Adjust font size:  —  TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on U.S. President George W. Bush to participate in a "direct television debate with us," so Iran can voice its point of view on how to end world predicaments.

Karr Won't Be Charged In Death of JonBenet  —  Prosecutor Says DNA Samples Did Not Match  —  Prosecutors dropped their case against John Mark Karr in the decade-old killing of JonBenet Ramsey on Monday, abruptly ending a 12-day whirlwind that reached halfway around the globe …

Democrats Now Favored to Take Over DeLay's Old Seat  —  The Texas Republican Party establishment has rallied around a single candidate, Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, in their unusual write-in campaign to salvage the 22nd Congressional District seat vacated in June by Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader.

Rumsfeld: U.S. able to take new fight despite Iraq  —  NAVAL AIR STATION FALLON, Nevada (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned potential adversaries on Monday that the United States remained capable of responding to military threats at home and abroad, despite its troop commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Volcanic Ash  —  A totally independent, slightly irreverent and hopelessly idealistic view of people and events in Hawai'i and beyond.  David Shapiro has covered Hawai'i and national news for 38 years as a reporter, editor and columnist.  —  Reach David at volcanicash@gmail.com.

Group of Iraqi Soldiers Refuses to Go to Baghdad  —  A group of Iraqi soldiers refused to go to Baghdad to participate in the effort to restore order in the Iraqi capital, a senior American military officer said today.  —  Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, who oversees the American-led effort to train …

Slowly Sidling To Iraq's Exit  —  Many GOP Candidates Part Company With Bush  —  By Election Day, how many Republican candidates will have come out against the Iraq war or distanced themselves from the administration's policies?  —  August 2006 will be remembered as a watershed in the politics of Iraq.

ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE LEAVES REUTERS AMBULANCE IN FLAMES, CHOPPED, CHANNELED  —  QANA, LEBANON - Israeli Defense Forces face fresh charges of war atrocities today, as international press agency Reuters released stark photos showing the devastation caused by a daylight IDF missile attack on a clearly marked Reuters press ambulance.

The Conservative Case Against Rudy Giuliani In 2008  —  Rudy Giuliani, a contender for the Presidency in 2008, is receiving an inordinate amount of positive attention.  That's quite understandable since Rudy is charismatic, did a great job on the campaign trail for President Bush in 2004 …

Pronouncing Blame on the Israel Lobby  —  It was quite a boner.  —  University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer was in town yesterday to elaborate on his view that American Jewish groups are responsible for the war in Iraq, the destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure and many other bad things.

Democrats See Victory in U.S. House Races, Senate Within Reach  —  Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) — Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chairman Charles Rangel and Chairman — again — John Dingell.  Those titles will soon sound familiar.  —  Barring an unexpected and big event, Democrats will win control …

Assembly approves universal health care  —  Passage of bill seen as election-year test for Schwarzenegger  —  (08-29) 04:00 PDT Sacramento — The Democratic-controlled Legislature is on the verge of sending Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill that would create a state-run universal health care system …

Plame and the 'Bush Lied' Meme  —  A new book by Michael Isikoff, an investigative reporter for Newsweek, and David Corn, who writes for the far left wing magazine The Nation, casts many powerful people in Washington in an unflattering light — but not the people who Mr. Isikoff and Mr. Corn wish to besmirch.

Star of the Right Loses His Base at the Border  —  MUNCIE, Ind. — He supports tax cuts and the war in Iraq.  He opposes stem cell research and the Medicare drug plan.  He is a master of his movement's medium, talk radio.  Jesus Christ is his personal savior and Ronald Reagan his political idol.

On YouTube, Charges of Security Flaws  —  Ex-Lockheed Worker Takes Concerns Over Coast Guard Ships to the Web  —  Michael De Kort was frustrated.  —  The 41-year-old Lockheed Martin engineer had complained to his bosses.  He had told his story to government investigators.  He had called congressmen.