Breaking: Anti-Syrian Lebanese cabinet member murdered in Beirut suburb  —  Via Snapped Shot.  They're not 100% sure yet that it was a political assassination but Fox just broke in to say the shooter was a sniper.  If the Syrians are behind it, it's both par for the course and incredibly stupid …

Film Director Robert Altman Dies  —  Robert Altman, the caustic and irreverent satirist behind "M-A-S-H," "Nashville" and "The Player" who made a career out of bucking Hollywood management and story conventions, died at a Los Angeles Hospital, his Sandcastle 5 Productions Company said Tuesday.

Romney: 'I'm a conservative Republican'  —  WASHINGTON - Eager to position himself as the most conservative GOP presidential hopeful, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney accused Sen. John McCain Monday of being "disingenuous" on gay marriage.  —  In an interview with The Examiner …

Baghdad Shias Believe Killings May Increase Once U.S.-led Forces Depart but Large Majorities Still Support Withdrawal Within a Year  —  Shias in the Capital—Unlike Those in the Rest of Iraq—Oppose Disarming Militias  —  Most Shia Arabs living in Baghdad have shifted in recent months …

Muslim scholar calls for airline boycott  —  Six imams were removed from a US Airways flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Monday and questioned by police for several hours before being released, a leader of the group said.  —  One of the Muslim scholars removed …

John McCain's Real Plan for Iraq  —  I talked with John McCain Sunday morning in the green room just before "This Week."  I asked him why he continued to call for more troops for Iraq when he must know it's a political non-starter.  He said he thought it important for the morale of the troops.

The Lingo Of Vietnam  —  The way President Bush whisked through Vietnam — oh, if only we had done the same 40 years ago — it seemed as if he was feeling an obvious parallel with the war in Iraq.  His aides, who somehow lose IQ points by mere proximity to the commander in chief …

Poll: More Americans prefer Bush's father  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Only one in four Americans believe President Bush is a better president than his father, George H. W. Bush, a new CNN poll has found.  —  Six in 10 said the elder Bush, who served one term from 1989-1993, did a better job in office …

U.S. Considers Raising Troop Levels in Iraq  —  Pentagon officials conducting a review of Iraq strategy are considering a substantial but temporary increase in American troop levels and the addition of several thousand more trainers to work with Iraqi forces, a senior Defense Department official said Monday.

Elder Bush takes on son's Arab critics  —  ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Former President George H.W. Bush took on Arab critics of his son Tuesday during a testy exchange at a leadership conference in the capital of this U.S. ally.  —  "My son is an honest man," Bush told members …

'Seinfeld' Comic Richards Apologizes for Racial Rant  —  Michael Richards, who played the quirky Cosmo Kramer on "Seinfeld," apologized yesterday for using racist language in an angry exchange with an African American man at a comedy club on Friday.  —  Richards, 57, appeared on …

Israeli Map Says West Bank Posts Sit on Arab Land  —  An Israeli advocacy group, using maps and figures leaked from inside the government, says that 39 percent of the land held by Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is privately owned by Palestinians.

Clinton Won Easily, but Bankroll Shows the Toll  —  She had only token opposition, but Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton still spent more on her re-election — upward of $30 million — than any other candidate for Senate this year.  So where did all the money go?

An Iraqi Solution, Vietnam Style  —  IRAQ'S prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, is now saying that he wants the United States to stand back and let him use Iraqi forces to restore order.  Within six months, he asserts, the bloodletting will cease.  The United States must give this proposal very serious consideration.

Reno Files Challenge to Terror Law  —  Former Attorney General Janet Reno and seven other former Justice Department officials filed court papers Monday arguing that the Bush administration is setting a dangerous precedent by trying a suspected terrorist outside the court system.

In precedent-setting ruling court says state must recognize gay marriage  —  In a precedent-setting ruling, the High Court of Justice on Tuesday ruled that five gay couples wedded outside of Israel can be registered as married couples.  —  A sweeping majority of six justices to one ruled …