Iraqi Official Testifies to Links Between Saddam and Al Qaeda  —  WASHINGTON — A deputy prime minister of Iraq yesterday offered a sharp contradiction of the conventional wisdom here that Saddam Hussein's Iraq and Al Qaeda had no connection before the 2003 war, flatly contradicting a recent report …

U.N. Inspectors Dispute Iran Report By House Panel  —  U.N. inspectors investigating Iran's nuclear program angrily complained to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman yesterday about a recent House committee report on Iran's capabilities, calling parts of the document …

Powell endorses efforts to block Bush's terrorist plan  —  WASHINGTON - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday endorsed efforts by three Republican senators to block President Bush's plan to authorize harsh interrogations of terror suspects.  —  The latest sign of GOP division …

Liberalism as Condescension  —  EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. — This suburb, contiguous with Chicago's western edge, is 88 percent white.  A large majority of the customers of the Wal-Mart that sits here, less than a block outside Chicago, are from the city and more than 90 percent of the store's customers are African-American.

Ex-Texas Gov. Ann Richards dies  —  AUSTIN, Texas - Former Gov. Ann Richards, the witty and flamboyant Democrat who went from homemaker to national political celebrity, died Wednesday night after a battle with cancer, a family spokeswoman said.  She was 73.  —  She died at home surrounded by her family, the spokeswoman said.

Lebanon - a reassessment  —  Anyone following the war in Lebanon in the Israeli media could not but come away engulfed in deep depression.  Israelis and their media tend to focus obsessively on themselves, their own losses and failings, remaining largely oblivious to what is happening on the other side of the divide.

So we're divided — is that George Bush's fault?  —  Ask yourself this question: What actions, or series of actions, could President Bush and GOP leaders in Congress have taken in the war on terror that would cause Democratic leaders to say, seven weeks before mid-term elections …

Novak Accuses Plame Source Of Distortion  —  Armitage Minimizes Role In Leak; Columnist Differs  —  Columnist Robert D. Novak, who first revealed Valerie Plame's employment by the CIA and touched off a lengthy federal leak investigation, is accusing his primary source of misrepresenting …

Hezbollah war crimes: Amnesty International cries  —  Heads up!  —  Amnesty International has introduced a comprehensive report accusing a terrorist group of war crimes.In utter defiance of the predominant American left, European and United Nations view that Israel engaged in gross war crimes …

Stuart Buck and Megan McArdle: Media map gives wrong directions on incomes  —  WASHINGTON - It often gets dicey for readers when journalists, who are rarely math majors, play with numbers and then publish misleading or mistaken conclusions.  It happened Labor Day when the Detroit Free Press published …

Montreal Shooter a Columbine Freak  —  Not Islamic.  Goth. … Andy the Squirrel sends me a couple of sites on VampireFreaks.com to check out:  —  Still waiting for my sign-in name to be created.  Here's one quote Andy sent: … Apparently they're not going to be able to call …

Dems seem likely to pick up midterm seats  —  NBC/WSJ poll: Americans remain down on GOP, Bush's performance, Iraq  —  WASHINGTON - Less than two months until Election Day, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that more than half of registered voters disapprove …

Blair attacks Europe's "mad anti-Americans"  —  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair launched a withering attack on Thursday on what he called "mad anti-Americanism" among European politicians.  —  Blair, U.S. President George W. Bush's closest ally in the so-called war on terror …

Meet the Next President: Kerry's Second Shot  —  KEENE, N.H. - Moments before Sen. John Kerry shows up to campaign for a local politician at a backyard rally here, voter Sue Borden wrinkles her nose at the mention of the man who lost to President Bush.  —  "You get one chance," the Democrat tells a reporter.

Gay Groups Renew Drive Against 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'  —  MADISON, Wis. —The three young men who tried to enlist at an Army recruiting station here appeared to be first-rate military material.  —  Two were college students, and the other was a college graduate.  They had no criminal records.

U.S. passes up chance to strike Taliban  —  Predator had suspected fighters in its sights, but military passed on shot  —  This undated photo obtained by NBC News, reportedly taken by an unmanned U.S. aircraft, shows a Taliban gathering in Afghanistan that the U.S. Army wanted to attack.  —  NBC VIDEO