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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

Calif. court says bloggers can't be sued  —  State's Supreme Court said a federal law gives immunity from libel suits  —  Pete Williams  —  The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that bloggers and participants in Internet bulletin board groups cannot be sued for posting defamatory statements made by others.

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 …

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?

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.

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.

Jihadis and whores  —  Wars are won by destroying the enemy's will to fight.  A nation is never really beaten until it sells its women.  —  The French sold their women to the German occupiers in 1940, and the Germans and Japanese sold their women to the Americans after World War II.

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 …

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.

Pelosi team tries to steer Democrats to the center  —  Wary of plans by House liberals  —  WASHINGTON — Anxious to chart a centrist course with Democrats' new majority in Congress, incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her top deputies are busily working in private and public to rein …