Bush Visits Gulf Coast, Stressing Progress  —  On the eve of the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's strike here, President Bush returned to the devastated region on Monday promising to continue federal assistance and, with his presidency still under the shadow of the slow response to the storm …

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.

Iraqi Troops Battle Shiite Militiamen In Southern City  —  With American combat aircraft providing cover, U.S.-backed Iraqi troops battled radical Shiite militiamen Monday in the southern city of Diwaniyah in one of the first major clashes between the two forces.

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.

Full Text of Pres.  Ahmadinejad's Letter to German Chancellor  —  TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently forwarded a letter to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  —  This was President Ahmadinejad's second letter to the heads of western states …

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.

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.

Secret Hold Senator: Byrd?  —  Just speculation from Immodest Proposals, but Byrd is the most likely offender.  —  Actually, he names both Byrd and Stevens, but I'll ignore the Stevens thing.  Not because it couldn't be Stevens, but because Byrd demolishes Stevens in every relevant criterion.

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.

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.