Flash: Laffey concedes to Chafee at 10:40 p.m.  —  Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey conceded the Republican nomination to Sen. Lincoln Chafee tonight.  —  At 10:45 p.m. U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee had a growing lead when Laffey acknowledged that he had lost.  —  With 81 percent of the votes counted …

Bill Clinton Meets Bloggers  —  Why would I fly to New York for a day?  Because former President Bill Clinton invited a group of progressive, Democrat bloggers in for a 2 hour roundtable meeting at his Harlem office.  It was awesome.  More later, including a list of all the bloggers there …

'Blogosphere' spurs government oversight  —  WASHINGTON — When watchdog groups that monitor federal spending wanted more information on 1,800 "pork barrel" projects buried in a House appropriations bill, they listed them on the Internet and asked readers to dig deeper.  Within days, details began pouring in.

Attacks on US Embassy in Damascus Foiled  —  Reports today indicate that Syrian security forces foiled an attempted car bomb attack against the US Embassy in Damascus.  At present, it's unclear as to whether these reports are entirely true.  Indeed, according to some eyewitness reports …

White House Responds to Charge of Politicizing 9/11  —  The White House today dismissed charges by prominent Democrats that President Bush sought to capitalize politically on the Sept. 11 attacks when he addressed the nation on Monday night.  —  "The president was not making partisan remarks …

ONE ARAB'S APOLOGY  —  WELL, here it is, five years late, but here just the same: an apology from an Arab-American for 9/11.  No, I didn't help organize the killers or contribute in any way to their terrible cause.  However, I was one of millions of Arab-Americans who did the unspeakable on 9/11: nothing.

Will Wikipedia Mean the End Of Traditional Encyclopedias?  —  Wikipedia, the community-edited online encyclopedia, has blossomed.  It has thousands of volunteers that have created more than five million entries in dozens of languages on everything from the Elfin-woods warbler to Paris Hilton.

Patriotism or Politics?  —  President Bush called for unity in his latest speech, but in reality, he was gearing up for a bruising fall campaign.  —  The White House promised a non-political speech.  Bush's aides said the president's address to the nation would exploit no partisan differences, and issue no calls to Congress.

Montgomery to Extend Voting Hours After Election Glitches  —  County Polling Places to Stay Open Until 9 P.M.  —  Polling stations in Montgomery County will remain open until 9 tonight—an hour later than usual—to accommodate voters who were turned away from the polls this morning …

Al Qaeda Will Nuke US in Late September  —  A Pakistani journalist says that his sources in al Qaeda and the Taliban are claiming that nuclear material has already been smuggled across the Mexican border into the U.S. and that an operation bigger than 9/11 will be carried out during Ramadan—which begins later this month.

Theory that U.S. orchestrated Sept. 11 attacks 'not absurd': Venezuela  —  Theory that U.S. orchestrated Sept. 11 attacks 'not absurd': Venezuela  —  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday that it's at least plausible that the U.S. government was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Six militants killed, 21 arrested in Afghanistan  —  The latest violence came as the top British general in charge of NATO forces in Afghanistan said in a newspaper interview Tuesday that the ousted Islamist regime was being defeated.  —  Four militants were killed in a gunbattle …

In Unpredictable District, Some Say Bush Is Politicizing Terrorism  —  Leaving services Sunday morning at Faith Bible Chapel, an evangelical megachurch, Jim McBride, a pilot who served in Vietnam, said he was not happy with President Bush's handling of Iraq.

'Girls Gone Wild' Cuts Plea Deal  —  The Santa Monica-based company failed to maintain age and identity documents for performers in sexually explicit films.  —  The California company responsible for the successful "Girls Gone Wild" series of videos has pleaded guilty to violating …

CONSPIRACY CRANKS  —  CREATING CRAZED '9/11 TRUTH'  —  ON Feb. 7, 2005, I became a member of the Bush/Halliburton/Zionist/CIA/ New World Order/Illuminati conspiracy for world domination.  That day, Popular Mechanics, the magazine I edit, hit newsstands with a story debunking 9/11 conspiracy theories.

Noe gets 27 months in federal prison for illegal Bush contributions  —  Tom Noe, the GOP fund-raiser at the heart of Ohio's biggest political scandal in a generation, was sentenced today to 27 months in a federal prison for illegally funneling money into President Bush's re-election campaign.

President Bush's Reality  —  Last night, President Bush once again urged Americans to take terrorism seriously — a warning that hardly seems necessary.  One aspect of that terrible day five years ago that seems immune to politicization or trivialization is the dread of another attack.