Hezbollah Said to Help Shiite Army in Iraq  —  A senior American intelligence official said Monday that the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah had been training members of the Mahdi Army, the Iraqi Shiite militia led by Moktada al-Sadr.  —  The official said that 1,000 to 2,000 fighters …

How the imams terrorized an airliner  —  Muslim religious leaders removed from a Minneapolis flight last week exhibited behavior associated with a security probe by terrorists and were not merely engaged in prayers, according to witnesses, police reports and aviation security officials.

Iran tells Talabani that US-led forces must leave Iraq  —  Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei told visiting Iraqi President Jalal Talabani that US-led forces had to leave Iraq if security was to be restored in the violence-riven country.  —  "The first step to solve the security issue in Iraq …

Informant in shooting says he never bought drugs at house  —  Says he was asked to lie  —  The confidential informant on whose word Atlanta police raided the house of an 88-year-old woman is now saying he never purchased drugs from her house and was told by police to lie and say he did.

Carbon emissions show sharp rise  —  Environment correspondent, BBC News website  —  The rise in humanity's emissions of carbon dioxide has accelerated sharply, according to a new analysis.  —  The Global Carbon Project says that emissions were rising by less than 1% annually up to the year 2000, but are now rising at 2.5% per year.

Anbar Picture Grows Clearer, and Bleaker  —  The U.S. military is no longer able to defeat a bloody insurgency in western Iraq or counter al-Qaeda's rising popularity there, according to newly disclosed details from a classified Marine Corps intelligence report that set off debate in recent months …

Justice Dept. to Examine Its Use of NSA Wiretaps  —  Review Won't Address Program's Legality  —  The Justice Department's inspector general yesterday announced an investigation into the department's connections to the government's controversial warrantless surveillance program …

Like I Care  —  The first person I knew who had a Web site of his own was a fellow Washington journalist.  This was when many journalists were still just getting into e-mail, but the URL for this Web site quickly circulated around town and around the world.  Why?  Well, we were all impressed by the technological savvy.

STORY OF SUNNIS BURNED ALIVE GOING UP IN SMOKE  —  You undoubtedly have seen the headlines about one of the horrific acts of violence reported recently from Iraq: last Friday evening, six innocent Sunnis were dragged from a mosque, doused with kerosene and burned alive by Shia militiamen.

Women talk three times as much as men, says study  —  It is something one half of the population has long suspected - and the other half always vocally denied.  Women really do talk more than men.  —  In fact, women talk almost three times as much as men, with the average woman chalking …

President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with President Ilves of Estonia  —  PRESIDENT ILVES: (As translated.)  Again, I'm very happy to greet the President of the United States, George W. Bush, in our fall weather here in Tallinn.  Unfortunately, the weather isn't better than it is, but that's how it happens.

Likability poll bad news for Kerry  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Sen. John Kerry, mulling a second bid for the U.S. presidency, finished dead last in a poll released on Monday on the likability of 20 top American political figures.  —  Among those placing ahead of Kerry …

Ad Blitz Satirizes Lebanon's Divides  —  Provocative Signs Target Pervasive Sectarianism  —  The evening was tense, as most are these days in Beirut, its Maronite Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Sunni and Shiite Muslims and Druze perched imprecisely between war and peace.

From Beirut to Baghdad  —  THE GHASTLY PREDICTABILITY OF NIHILIST VIOLENCE.  —  The fate of those who criticize the Syrian presence in Lebanon is rather like the fate of those who oppose Vladimir Putin.  The former are shot or blown up, and the latter are victims of exotic poisons.

CQ Analyst Suggests 'Rumsfeld's Leaving Is Just The Beginning,' Cheney Might Be Next  —  Appearing on MSNBC this afternoon, Congressional Quarterly political analyst Craig Crawford speculated that, as "neocons are heading for the hills," Dick Cheney may be the next to leave the administration.

American Legion to Congressman Rangel: Apologize Now  —  The National Commander of The American Legion called on Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) to apologize for suggesting that American troops would not choose to fight in Iraq if they had other employment options.