Leading Bush critic at home calls Chavez a "thug"  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of President George W. Bush's fiercest political opponents at home took his side on Thursday, calling Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a "thug" for his remark that Bush is like the devil.

Pakistani clerics demand pope's removal  —  LAHORE, Pakistan - About 1,000 Muslim clerics and religious scholars meeting Thursday in eastern Pakistan demanded the removal of Pope Benedict XVI for making what they called "insulting remarks" against Islam.  —  Benedict "should be removed …

Bush and GOP Making Gains Among Voters  —  The turnaround is a sign that the election battle in November could be fierce.  But history shows Democrats remain poised to claim seats.  —  WASHINGTON — President Bush's approval rating has reached its highest level since January …

BILL O'REILLY'S DEATH WISH  —  Bill O'Reilly may be the most fervent flag waver on cable—a patriot who believes in torturing terrorists and profiling all Muslims.  But is that enough to get him targeted by Al Qaeda?  —  The loofah-loving Fox News host is raising plenty of eyebrows around …

Allen's Mother Revealed Jewish Heritage to Him Last Month  —  Henrietta "Etty" Allen said Wednesday that she concealed her upbringing as a Jew in North Africa from her children, including Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), until a conversation across the dining room table in late August.

U.S. threatened to bomb Pakistan after 9/1: Musharraf  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan said that after the September 11 attacks the United States threatened to bomb his country if it did not cooperate with America's campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Keep Away the Vote  —  One of the cornerstones of the Republican Party's strategy for winning elections these days is voter suppression, intentionally putting up barriers between eligible voters and the ballot box.  The House of Representatives took a shameful step in this direction yesterday …

Justice Dept. Amends Remark on Torture Case  —  In an embarrassing turnabout, the Department of Justice backed away Wednesday from a denial by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales of responsibility for the treatment of a Canadian who was seized by American authorities in 2002.

Bush, McCain reach agreement on tribunal laws  —  Deal comes as House, Senate wrangle over how to treat enemy combatants  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush and Republican negotiators led by Sen. John McCain have reached an agreement on legislation covering tribunals for enemy combatant suspects, NBC News has learned.

Mahmoun's Style  —  I keep talking about this with people in real life, but it deserves a blog mention as well — Mahmoun Ahmadinejad has a pretty sweet hipster style.  It all starts with a beard not unlike the one I and many of my twentysomething male friends sport.  But it goes deeper.

Ga. Republican says he supports "methods necessary" for detainees  —  WASHINGTON - Georgia congressman Lynn Westmoreland backed away from comments he made suggesting that he supports torturing terrorism suspects, but said intelligence agencies should be given latitude to use "the methods necessary" to get information from detainees.