Bush to sign law on terror suspects  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush is signing into law today new standards expediting interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects, a bill the White House says strengthens his hand in a time of war.  —  Bush's plan becomes law just six weeks after he acknowledged …

Bush Meets To Keep Talk Radio Hosts In Line  —  You have to ask yourself: who ever would have thought 30 years ago that talk radio would evolve into where three hour "shows" would essentially become propaganda strips for political parties — and if the hosts wavered from the party line …

Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite?  —  FOR the past several months, I've been wrapping up lengthy interviews with Washington counterterrorism officials with a fundamental question: "Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite?"  —  A "gotcha" question?  Perhaps.

Iraqis Ask Why U.S. Forces Didn't Intervene in Balad  —  American military units joined with Iraqi forces on Monday in maintaining a fragile peace between Sunni and Shiite communities in Balad, a rural town north of the capital where an explosion of sectarian violence over the weekend left dozens dead.

Poll: Foley scandal ranks low among election issues  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Only about a quarter of Americans say the scandal over former Rep. Mark Foley will be "extremely important" in how they vote in November's congressional elections, according to a CNN poll released Tuesday.

53% of Voters Say They Back Va. Same-Sex Marriage Ban  —  Only Area Against Measure Is N.Va., According to Poll  —  A majority of Virginians support a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage and civil unions, although voters split on the measure when presented …

Hamas official: Is violence Palestinian "disease?"  —  GAZA (Reuters) - A senior figure in Hamas, the Islamist group that heads the Palestinian government, published an article on Tuesday condemning internal violence and questioning whether it had become a "Palestinian disease."

Reuters Cameraman Remanded for Inciting Rock Attacks  —  On Tuesday, a Reuters cameraman was remanded to prison until trial for his part in rock-throwing attacks on security forces in Bil'in, where the separation fence is a constant target of protesters.  —  The cameraman, Imad Muhammad Intisar Boghnat …

Cheney Hits Heartland, and He Can Feel the Love  —  Grace Mosier lives with her mom and dad, goes to birthday parties, takes ballet classes and is just like a lot of other 6-year-old girls.  Except that she happens to be obsessed with Dick Cheney.  —  "I really, really like him," says Grace …

Hillary, Not as in the Mount Everest Guy  —  For more than a decade, one piece of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's informal biography has been that she was named for Sir Edmund Hillary, the conqueror of Mount Everest.  The story was even recounted in Bill Clinton's autobiography.

Look Out for Party Switchers  —  The morning after the 1994 election, while Democrats were licking their wounds, they got kicked again when Sen. Richard Shelby announced that he was switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.  Shortly after Shelby's switch, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell jumped to the GOP side too.

U.S. Faces Obstacles To Freeing Detainees  —  BERLIN — British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett last week issued the latest European demand to close down the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  The existence of the prison is "unacceptable" and fuels Islamic radicalism around the world …

Shays: Lieberman's Election "More Important"  —  U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman said at a New Haven campaign stop Tuesday that he does, after all, want to see the Democrats retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives — then was joined by a Republican congressman who praised him as a …

Relatives have 'inside track' in lobbying for tax dollars  —  Members of Congress and their staffs are barred from using their positions for personal profit.  But their spouses and other relatives can — and often do — cash in when lawmakers spend taxpayer dollars.

Mexico's health care on a pedestal  —  Universal coverage, seeking to reach tens of millions since 2003, has become a model for other nations  —  In three years, tens of millions of Mexicans have become part of a unique universal health care plan that has become the envy of developing countries worldwide …