End of an Affair  —  WE'RE RELUCTANT to return to the subject of former CIA employee Valerie Plame because of our oft-stated belief that far too much attention and debate in Washington has been devoted to her story and that of her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, over the past three years.

FBI searches offices of Alaska lawmakers  —  Legislators targeted in five locations as part of 'pending investigation'  —  JUNEAU, Alaska - Federal agents raided the offices of at least six Alaska lawmakers Thursday in a search for any ties between the legislators and a large oil field services company, officials said.

Education Dept. Shared Student Data With F.B.I.  —  The Federal Education Department shared personal information on hundreds of student loan applicants with the Federal Bureau of Investigation across a five-year period that began after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the agencies said yesterday.

In Latest Push, Bush Cites Risk in Quitting Iraq  —  President Bush said Thursday that withdrawing now from Iraq would leave Americans at risk of terrorist attacks "in the streets of our own cities," and he cast the struggle against Islamic extremists as the costly but necessary successor …

Annan: Syria to enforce arms embargo  —  DAMASCUS, Syria - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that Syria has pledged to step up border patrols and work with the Lebanese army to stop the flow of weapons to Hezbollah.  —  Annan also said that he had asked Syrian President Bashar Assad …

Hezbollah's 'Victory'  —  "We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude.  You ask me, if I had known on July 11 . . . that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it?  I say no, absolutely not."  —  Hezbollah leader, Aug. 27

GOP lags in key races for Senate  —  As the Labor Day weekend launches a final nine weeks of campaigning, USA TODAY/Gallup Polls in five key states show Democrats poised to gain Senate seats but facing an uphill battle to regain control.  —  Democrats seem more likely to carry the House …

Democrats Target Rumsfeld  —  Lawmakers to Seek a Vote of No Confidence in Defense Secretary  —  Under assault from Republicans on issues of national security, congressional Democrats are planning to push for a vote of no confidence in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this month as part …

Highly Enriched Uranium Found at Iranian Plant  —  The global nuclear monitoring agency deepened suspicions on Thursday about Iran's nuclear program, reporting that inspectors had discovered new traces of highly enriched uranium at an Iranian facility.  —  Inspectors have found such uranium …

Getting Past Katrina  —  A YEAR ago this week, the entire nation caught a chilling look in the mirror.  We watched as the citizens of New Orleans, clutching their essential belongings in plastic trash bags, struggled through fetid flood waters in search of shelter.

What if Bush really was assassinated?  —  Held up by a Secret Service bodyguard in his dying moments after being shot in the stomach, this is President Bush being assassinated.  —  The American leader is surrounded by a crowd of panicking onlookers just seconds after being gunned …

Sen. Clinton Touts Woman for President  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, standing outside an abandoned knitting mill that will become the new home of the National Women's Hall of Fame, said Thursday she hopes America is ready for its first woman president.  —  "It just depends on when and if that happens," the former first lady said.

A Younger India Is Flexing Its Industrial Brawn  —  Rolls of steel weighing up to 30 metric tons are loaded onto ships at Hazira, India.  Steel shipped by the Essar Group to the United States is put to a variety of uses like construction projects and mountings for car engines.

New Enemies Demand New Thinking  —  The secretary of Defense clarifies and expands on what he said in his recent speeches about appeasing extremists.  —  IN THE LAST FEW DAYS I have had the opportunity to speak at the annual conventions of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

Defense CEOs doing well since 9/11, study says  —  Average pay has doubled, compared with slight gains at other companies  —  WASHINGTON - The chief executives of corporations making big profits from the war on terror are enjoying far bigger pay increases than CEOs of nondefense companies, according to a study by two liberal groups.