Bush: Iraq violence is al-Qaida plot  —  RIGA, Latvia - President Bush said Tuesday that an al-Qaida plot to stoke cycles of sectarian revenge in Iraq is to blame for escalating bloodshed, refusing to debate whether the country has fallen into civil war.  —  "There's a lot of sectarian …

Pelosi rejects Hastings bid to head committee  —Text+WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida, impeached as a federal judge in 1989 on corruption charges, dropped his bid under pressure on Tuesday to chair a congressional panel designed to help protect America's security, a party aide said.

Burning Six update: The AP responds (to USA Today); update: and now, a new AP account  —  ***scroll for updates...  (fyi, my gmail is still down.  if you are trying to reach me, use this temporary address: malkinblog-at-yahoo.com)...see below for AP tinfoil hat editorializing...plus …

'Civil' Disobedience Spreads — 'NYT' Adjusts Language on Iraq  —  NEW YORK In the wake of the highly-publicized NBC and MSNBC decision to start referring to the conflict in Iraq as a "civil war," other media outlets, which have long used phrases such as "sectarian violence," are re-considering their language in this regard.

Judge strikes down Bush on terror groups  —  LOS ANGELES - A federal judge struck down President Bush's authority to designate groups as terrorists, saying his post-Sept. 11 executive order was unconstitutionally vague, according to a ruling released Tuesday.

SWAT Overkill: The Danger of a Paramilitary Police Force  —  In a guest editorial, law professor and instupundit.com blogger Glenn Reynolds argues that overagressive tactics and surplus military gear have turned some police units into a dangerous menace.  —  SOLDIERS AND POLICE are supposed to be different.

Congressman calls Miami a `Third World country'  —  WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo, the leader of the anti-illegal immigration faction in the U.S. House, spent a recent weekend at The Breakers in Palm Beach.  —  Ninety miles to the south, he found a symbol to bolster his belief …

America, Not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on  —  Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.

Son also rises in testy Webb-Bush exchange  —  President Bush has pledged to work with the new Democratic majorities in Congress, but he has already gotten off on the wrong foot with Jim Webb, whose surprise victory over Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) tipped the Senate to the Democrats.

EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon Considers Moving Troops From al-Anbar Province to Baghdad  —  Major Strategic Shift Considered to Secure Iraqi Capital  —  ABC News has learned that Pentagon officials are considering a major strategic shift in Iraq, to move U.S. forces out of the dangerous Sunni-dominated …

JUDGE ORDERS TREASURY DEPARTMENT TO MAKE PAPER MONEY RECOGNIZABLE TO BLIND PEOPLE  —  WASHINGTON — American paper money represents an unfair impediment to the blind, and the Treasury Department must come up with new U.S. currency to help the visually impaired use cash, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

French police the target in urban guerrilla war  —  PARIS (Reuters) - Stoned, beaten and insulted, their vehicles torched by crowds of hostile youths, French police say they face an urban guerrilla war when they enter the run-down neighborhoods that ring the major cities.

Cheerleading for the Terrorists  —  The media, in all of its glory, wholeheartedly participating in the celebration of a new weapon designed to kill Jews:  —  More details will follow shortly, as soon as I have the time.  I hope to track down the news articles attached to this event …