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.

For AK Scandal Company, Money Can't Buy Happiness — But Influence?  Perhaps.  —  When FBI agents raided the offices of Alaska Senate President Ben Stevens and five other legislators, they were looking for evidence of improper ties between those state lawmakers and a company called VECO Corp.

Perfect Storm for the Poor  —  In Income Data, Something More Damaging Than Katrina  —  After a week of remembering the horrors of Hurricane Katrina, the most depressing realization is how easily our leaders forgot their fervent promises to lift up our nation's poorest citizens.

The Path to 9/11  —  Starring Harvey Keitel, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Benyaer, Shirley Douglas, Patricia Heaton  —  The miniseries will take viewers behind closed doors at the CIA, the FBI and the White House and into the world of Richard Clarke, Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice …

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 …

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.

Interceptor downs missile in test over Pacific  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military shot down a target ballistic missile over the Pacific on Friday in the widest test of its emerging antimissile shield in 18 months, the Defense Department announced.  —  The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency …

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 …

Jobless Rate Dips in August  —  Hiring perked up in August as employers added 128,000 jobs, pulling down the unemployment rate to 4.7 percent, sending a Labor Day message that the economic expansion still has staying power.  —  The latest snapshot, released by the Labor Department Friday …

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 …

Pentagon Releases Grim Report on Iraq  —  Iraqi casualties soared by more than 50 percent during the roughly three-month period ending in early August, the product of spiraling sectarian clashes and a Sunni-based insurgency that remains "potent and viable," the Pentagon noted today in an comprehensive assessment of security in Iraq.

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 …

The full-chested warriors — Up Close and Personal  —  (updated below)  —  When Fox News journalists Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig were being held by Gaza kidnappers, they were used as solemn symbols of our grand struggle against Islamic fascists.  But ever since they were released …

R.I.P. Hina Saleem, I will be intolerant in your name  —  "She was simply a daughter who did not obey", said the mother of the 20-year old dead girl, Hina Saleem.  Hina was found buried, with her throat slit, in the garden of her family home in Brescia, Italy.  The "honor" killing has rocked Italy.

On the Job, Nursing Mothers Find a 2-Class System  —  When a new mother returns to Starbucks' corporate headquarters in Seattle after maternity leave, she learns what is behind the doors mysteriously marked "Lactation Room."  —  Whenever she likes, she can slip away from her desk and behind those doors …

Where's Mao?  Chinese Revise History Books  —  When high school students in Shanghai crack their history textbooks this fall they may be in for a surprise.  The new standard world history text drops wars, dynasties and Communist revolutions in favor of colorful tutorials on economics, technology, social customs and globalization.

Burns urges Schweitzer to take steps already taken  —  HELENA — U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns urged Gov. Brian Schweitzer to declare a fire state of emergency Thursday and activate the Montana Army National Guard for firefighting — more than a month after Schweitzer had already done so.