Up to 14 hurt in SF hit-and-run spree 7 critical; driver believed to have struck, killed a man in Fremont earlier  —  (08-29) 15:56 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — As many as 14 people were injured this afternoon by a motorist who drove around San Francisco running them down before he was arrested, authorities said.

The Tragedy of New Orleans  —  Katrina spending is five times larger than past disasters.  —  "New Orleans has suffered from the trauma of three crises," says Louisiana Congressman Bobby Jindal.  "First was the hurricane, second was the levees breaking and third has been the widespread incompetence …

Bill Frist Pledges To Take S 2590 To Floor  —  I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon in honor of Senator Bill Frist at the Minneapolis Club this afternoon.  The Senate Majority leader spoke on a wide range of topics, which will form the basis of at least a couple more posts today and tomorrow.

Beyond Macaca: The Photograph That Haunts George Allen  —  Barnstorming around Virginia in the re-election campaign that Republican Senator George Allen hopes will provide the impetus for his 2008 run for the presidency, he has suddenly been forced on the defensive.

Plame Out  —  THE RIDICULOUS END TO THE SCANDAL THAT DISTRACTED WASHINGTON.  —  I had a feeling that I might slightly regret the title ("Case Closed") of my July 25 column on the Niger uranium story.  I have now presented thousands of words of evidence and argument to the effect that …

Rumsfeld: Bush foes lack courage on terror  —  Adjust font size:  —  SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused critics of the Bush administration's Iraq and counterterrorism policies of lacking the courage to fight terror.

Former VP candidate Jack Kemp to campaign for Lieberman  —  NEW LONDON — Sen. Joe Lieberman, running for re-election as an independent after losing the Democratic primary and being abandoned by top-ranking Democrats earlier this month, will campaign with former Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, Lieberman said Tuesday.

Hefley ponders run at seat as write-in  —  Rep. Joel Hefley is seriously considering running as a writein candidate to retain his seat rather than risk handing it over to Republican nominee Doug Lamborn.  —  In meetings with national political consultants, Hefley and his supporters have come …

No wonder the GOP wanted to kill the census report  —  Earlier this year, the Bush administration announced that it no longer saw any reason for the Census Bureau to keep producing its annual report on poverty and income.  It may be the only government survey that researchers how income changes affect …

FBI: Fugitive polygamist arrested near Las Vegas  —  Adjust font size:  —  LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) — The fugitive leader of a polygamist sect has been arrested in southern Nevada, the FBI said Tuesday.  —  Warren Steed Jeffs, 50, was taken into custody after he and two other people …

Perry calls special election for DeLay's unexpired term  —  AUSTIN — Republican Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday called a Nov. 7 special election to temporarily fill the seat left vacant when former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay resigned.  —  DeLay, a Republican whose term would have expired in January, resigned in June.

Inquiry Criticizes U.S. Broadcasting Official Over Hiring  —  State Department investigators have concluded that Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the head of the federal agency that oversees most government broadcasts to foreign countries, improperly hired a friend on the public payroll for nearly $250,000 …

Brain injury budget faces cut  —  Military research, treatment at risk  —  Brain injuries are so common among U.S. troops that they're called the signature injury of the Iraq war, but Congress is poised to cut military spending on researching and treating them.

Karr Cleared in JonBenet Case — After Media Frenzy  —  NEW YORK After two weeks of frenzied and often jump-to-conclusions media coverage, Colorado prosecutors on Monday dropped their case against John Mark Karr over the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey.  —  Prosecutors threw out the case …