Hastert, Top Aides Knew of Foley Allegations  —  Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and at least three of his aides were told of allegations that then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) had improper e-mail contacts with a former House page months before the incident became public and Foley resigned from Congress …

It was Bush's decision.  But Rumsfeld drove the dynamic on Iraq.  How the SecDef blew it.  An exclusive excerpt.  —  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (left) had concerns about the 'overbearing style' of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (right), according to Woodward's book

The laughing 9/11 bombers  —  Exclusive film of suicide pilots at Bin Laden's HQ  —  FILM of the ringleader of the September 11 hijackers reading his "martyrdom" will inside Afghanistan at Osama Bin Laden's headquarters has emerged five years after the Al-Qaeda outrage.

Is there blood on his hands?  —  As Kofi Annan prepares to stand down as UN secretary-general, Adam LeBor investigates the accusations made against the world's chief defender of human rights  —  THE CASE AGAINST KOFI ANNAN  —  The bodies were still warm when Lieutenant Ron Rutten found them …

Justices to Hear Abortion, Integration Cases  —  'Partial-Birth' Procedure and Schools' Race Policies to Dominate Court's Agenda  —  Abortion and race dominate the Supreme Court's agenda for the term that begins tomorrow, with the Bush administration and its conservative allies urging …

Campaign 2006: The Republicans' Secret Weapon  —  You think the GOP is sure to lose big in November?  They aren't.  Here's why things don't look so bad to them  —  The polls keep suggesting that Republicans could be in for a historic drubbing.  And their usual advantage …

THE GLENN AND HELEN SHOW: MICHAEL TOTTEN ON BLOG-JOURNALISM AND THE MIDDLE EAST  —  Michael Totten is an independent blog-journalist who has covered the Middle East with support from his blog readers.  He's reported from Libya, Tunisia, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt — and he's now planning another trip.

Saudis build 550-mile fence to shut out Iraq  —  Security in Iraq has collapsed so dramatically that Saudi Arabia has ordered the construction of a 550-mile high-tech fence to seal off its troubled northern neighbour.  —  The huge project to build the barrier, which will be equipped …

Mormon with a JFK touch is right on McCain's tail  —  FOR a glimpse of the top candidates for president in 2008, the best venue last week was a fashionable bar in Washington where the favourites for the Republican and Democratic nominations gathered like show ponies for the launch of a book called The Way to Win.

Powell Tried to Warn Bush on Iraq, Book Says  —  Colin L. Powell, in his last face-to-face meeting with President Bush before stepping down as secretary of state in January 2005, tried to impress upon him one last time the dangers he saw the United States facing in Iraq, according to a new Powell biography.

Florida Republicans angry at Foley's 'hypocrisy'  —  The congressman was known for crusading against sex predators and Internet porn.  —  FORT LAUDERDALE — At the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, a young Republican congressman from Florida did something that seemed ordinary at the time …

Tester holds 7-point lead on Burns, poll says  —  HELENA - Democratic challenger Jon Tester is leading Republican U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns by a 47 percent to 40 percent margin, a new Gazette State Poll shows.  —  Ten percent of the voters are undecided, while 3 percent said they would vote …

Blinded by Hindsight  —  FIVE years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, three years after the 9/11 commission report, and just weeks before a national election, the issues of what happened before those attacks have resurfaced.  Suddenly, we are again witnessing heated disputes …