C.I.A. Said to Find No Hussein Link to Terror Chief  —  The Central Intelligence Agency last fall repudiated the claim that there were prewar ties between Saddam Hussein's government and an operative of Al Qaeda, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to a report issued Friday by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Eustis chief: Iraq post-war plan muzzled  —  FORT EUSTIS — Months before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld forbade military strategists from developing plans for securing a post-war Iraq, the retiring commander of the Army Transportation Corps said Thursday.

ABC Gets More Pressure to Toss 9/11 Film  —  NEW YORK (AP) — ABC faced growing pressure Friday about its planned miniseries on the buildup to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.  Former Clinton administration officials, historians and a Democratic petition with nearly 200,000 signatures urged the network to scrap the five-hour drama.

Television Ad Shows Reagan Praising Webb In 1985 Speech  —  Democratic Senate candidate James Webb will launch his first television ad Monday, a 30-second tribute by former President Ronald Reagan, for whom Webb once served as Navy secretary.  —  The commercial shows Reagan, a Republican …

U.S. count of Baghdad deaths excludes car bombs, mortar attacks  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. officials, seeking a way to measure the results of a program aimed at decreasing violence in Baghdad, aren't counting scores of dead killed in car bombings and mortar attacks as victims of the country's sectarian violence.

France: Int'l fleet won't employ force  —  France announced on Friday that the international naval force designated to patrol Lebanon's territorial waters would not be authorized to employ force to stop ships from entering or leaving Lebanon.  —  A spokesman for the French defense ministry …

F.B.I. Agents Question Accuracy of 9/11 Series  —  Two retired F.B.I. agents said today that they had rejected advisory roles on the disputed ABC mini-series, "The Path to 9/11," because of concerns about the program's accuracy.  —  One of the agents, Thomas E. Nicoletti …

Saudi religious cops ban dog, cat sales  —  JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's religious police, normally tasked with chiding women to cover themselves and ensuring men attend mosque prayers, are turning to a new target: cats and dogs.  —  The police have issued a decree banning the sale of the pets …

'Most People Want Us to Win'  —  A president in the fray, more Truman than LBJ.  —  ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — Speaker Nancy Pelosi?  —  "That's not going to happen," snaps the president of the United States, leaning across his desk in his airborne office.  He had been saying that he hoped …

The GOP's Top 18 Pick-Up Opportunities In The House For 2006  —  It's not shaping up to be a great year for the GOP, the Democrats definitely have a big edge, and quite frankly, this is a lean field.  Still, the GOP does have some opportunities that we may be able to exploit.