Rushing Off a Cliff  —  Here's what happens when this irresponsible Congress railroads a profoundly important bill to serve the mindless politics of a midterm election: The Bush administration uses Republicans' fear of losing their majority to push through ghastly ideas about antiterrorism …

New Hope for Democrats in Bid for Senate  —  Six weeks before Election Day, the Democrats suddenly face a map with unexpected opportunities in their battle for control of the Senate.  —  In Virginia, a state that few expected to be seriously competitive, Senator George Allen, a Republican …

Infidel Documents  —  Intelligence, jihadists and the Iraq war debate.  —  The scaffolding of the Iraq war is under renewed attack.  So there had been no meeting between Mohamed Atta and Iraqi intelligence operative Ahmad al-Ani in Prague; and Saddam's regime was "intensely secular" while al Qaeda was steeped in religious doctrine.

Poll: Iraqis back attacks on U.S. troops  —  WASHINGTON - About six in 10 Iraqis say they approve of attacks on U.S.-led forces, and slightly more than that want their government to ask U.S. troops to leave within a year, a poll finds.  —  The Iraqis also have negative views of Osama bin Laden …

Heralded Iraq Police Academy a 'Disaster'  —  A $75 million project to build the largest police academy in Iraq has been so grossly mismanaged that the campus now poses health risks to recruits and might need to be partially demolished, U.S. investigators have found.

Jeanine Pirro Under Criminal Investigation  —  ALBANY, N.Y. — NewsChannel 4's Jonathan Dienst has learned Jeanine Pirro, the Republican candidate for New York Attorney General, has been under state and federal criminal investigation.  — Images: Pirro Probed For Alleged Spy Plan

Webb Denies Ever Using Word as Epithet  —  Racial Slur Overshadowing All Else in Contest  —  Democratic Senate candidate James Webb on Wednesday sought to explain remarks he had made a day earlier, in which he refused to say whether he had used the "N-word," but he insisted he has never used it as a racial epithet aimed at anyone.

7-Eleven dropping Venezuela-backed Citgo  —  DALLAS - Convenience store operator 7-Eleven Inc. is dropping Venezuela-backed Citgo as its gasoline supplier at more than 2,100 locations and switching to its own brand of fuel.  —  The retailer said Wednesday it will purchase fuel from several distributors …

Brussels Returns to Normal, for Now  —  Last night Brussels police arrested 39 youths, including 15 minors, in the Marollen neigbourhood.  The area had seen heavy rioting the previous nights.  Some of the arrested immigrants were carrying combustibles.  One schack was set alight and one car was torched.

Cost of Iraq war nearly $2b a week  —  WASHINGTON — A new congressional analysis shows the Iraq war is now costing taxpayers almost $2 billion a week — nearly twice as much as in the first year of the conflict three years ago and 20 percent more than last year — as the Pentagon spends …

Chairman seeks review, possible removal of memorial inscriptions  —  PHOENIX — A state commission that authorized placement of the Arizona 9-11 Memorial in Wesley Bolin Plaza will review controversial laser-cut inscriptions "and see if some of them could be removed," the panel's chairman said Wednesday.

Musgrave: Gay Marriage 'Is The Most Important Issue That We Face Today'  —  Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), the lead sponsor of the constitutional ban on gay marriage in the House, spoke this weekend at the Family Research Council's "Values Voter Summit."  (Other virulently anti-gay speakers were featured at the event.)

A Coordinated Character Assassination  —  It's an incredible shame that the Democrats have chosen to make the Virginia Senate Race a campaign about what African-American Bishop Gerald O. Glenn called "character assassination" rather than about the many issues facing Virginia.

Menendez Dumps Key Adviser Caught On Tape Seeking 'Favors'  —  U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's closest political adviser was secretly recorded seven years ago boasting of political power and urging a Hudson county contractor to hire somone as a favor to Menendez, according to a transcript obtained by The Star-Ledger.

Giuliani Defends Clinton on 9/11 Efforts  —  Rudy Giuliani defends Bill Clinton over former president's counterterrorism efforts  —  (AP) Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani defended Bill Clinton on Wednesday over the former president's counterterrorism efforts, saying recent criticism …

Al Qaeda gains recruits from Iraq war - U.N. study  —  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. report released on Wednesday said the Iraq war provided al Qaeda with a training centre and recruits, reinforcing a U.S. intelligence study blaming the conflict for a surge in Islamic extremism.