A Tough Road Ahead for Rove  —  Karl Rove, the top White House political strategist, is coming off the worst election defeat of his career to face a daunting task: saving the president's agenda with a Congress not only controlled by Democrats, but also filled with Republican members resentful …

Rupe is in soup with troops  —  O'Reilly rips Murdoch, book, show  —  Fox News firebrand Bill O'Reilly threatened yesterday to whack Rupert Murdoch in the wallet for promoting O.J. Simpson's how-I-murdered-my-wife book.  —  Vowing to boycott any company that advertises on Fox's …

Web 'fuelling crisis in politics'  —  Tony Blair's outgoing chief strategy adviser fears the internet could be fuelling a "crisis" in the relationship between politicians and voters.  —  Matthew Taylor - who stressed he was speaking as a "citizen" not a government spokesman - said the web could be "fantastic" for democracy.

Bush's nominees for judgeships to be conservative  —  Even with Democrats controlling the Senate, President Bush will continue to nominate conservative judges such as Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney said yesterday.

Ruling: Classes divided by race  —  At Preston Hollow, principal tried to appease affluent parents, halt white flight, judge says  —  For years, it was an open secret at North Dallas' Preston Hollow Elementary School: Even though the school was overwhelmingly Hispanic and black …

No Grunting, They Said, and He Was at the Gym  —  Albert Argibay, a bodybuilder and a state correction officer, was at a Planet Fitness gym with 500 pounds of weight on his shoulders one afternoon this month when the club manager walked over and told him it was time to leave.

S. Korea won't back Bush on inspections  —  HANOI, Vietnam — President Bush, trying to stiffen global resolve to confront North Korea, failed to win South Korea's support Saturday for intercepting ships suspected of carrying supplies for the communist regime's nuclear weapons program.

Dutch set to ban burka in public after election  —  A BAN on wearing the burka in public in the Netherlands moved a step closer yesterday, just five days before voters go to the polls in elections that had not until now focused on issues of race and immigration.

Democrats Split on How Far to Go With Ethics Law  —  Left and right: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Center: David Scull for The New York Times  —  After railing for months against Congressional corruption under Republican rule, Democrats on Capitol Hill are divided on how far their proposed ethics overhaul should go.

Our Ali  —  . Yesterday, I received an Email from a friend citing a very touching obituary for a young Iraqi boy by the name of Ali who died of leukemia in his family's self imposed exile in Jordan.  It was written by one of his teachers and published in Al Rai newspaper.

Chertoff says U.S. threatened by international law  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Bush administration official on Friday said the European Union, the United Nations and other international entities increasingly are using international law to challenge U.S. powers to reject treaties and protect itself from attack.

FAQ - Republican Congressional Leadership  —  1) How could this have happened?  The entire weight and heft of the right-wing blogosphere stood behind a campaign to change the House leadership and nothing happened.  Kos holds a putz-fest in Vegas and virtually the complete Democratic establishment comes to kiss his ring.

Unlike Clinton, Bush Sees Hanoi in Bit of a Hurry  —  President Bush likes speed golf and speed tourism — this is the man who did the treasures of Red Square in less than 20 minutes — but here in the lake-studded capital of a nation desperately eager to connect with America, he set a record.

O'Connor details half-baked attempt to kill Supreme Court  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Cookies mailed to the U.S. Supreme Court last year contained enough rat poison to kill all nine justices, retired member Sandra Day O'Connor said at a conference last week.  —  Barbara Joan March …