Iraq Panel to Recommend Pullback of Combat Troops  —  The bipartisan Iraq Study Group reached a consensus on Wednesday on a final report that will call for a gradual pullback of the 15 American combat brigades now in Iraq but stop short of setting a firm timetable for their withdrawal …

Ahmadinejad's letter to Americans  —  [Editor's note: This is the full text of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's open letter to "the American People," as supplied to CNN.]  —  (CNN) — In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful  —  O, Almighty God, bestow upon humanity …

Stepping Into Iraq  —  Saudi Arabia Will Protect Sunnis if the U.S. Leaves  —  In February 2003, a month before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, warned President Bush that he would be "solving one problem and creating five more" if he removed Saddam Hussein by force.

Illegal aliens murder 12 Americans daily  —  Death toll in 2006 far overshadows total  —  U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, Afghanistan  —  WASHINGTON - While the military "quagmire" in Iraq was said to tip the scales of power in the U.S. midterm elections, most Americans have no idea …

Radioactive traces on BA planes  —  Traces of a radioactive substance have been found on two British Airways planes at Heathrow Airport, says BA.  —  The planes, plus a third in Moscow, are being tested as part of the probe into the death from radiation poisoning of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko.

Frist Announces He Won't Seek White House in 2008  —  Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said today that he will not run for president in 2008, saying he plans to "take a sabbatical from public life" and return to his Tennessee home and his professional roots as a doctor.

Getting The News From The Enemy, Update III  —  MAJOR UPDATE BELOW  —  IRAQ GOVERNMENT TO ANNOUNCE CAPT. HUSSEIN IS NOT WHO HE SAYS HE IS  —  First of all I apologize for the late response to the AP's rebuttal on this Burning Six story.  Loooong day and night at work last night so had no idea this was all taking place yesterday.

Supreme Court clashes over climate change  —  The global political battle over climate change was also being fought at the US Supreme Court on Wednesday as judges bickered over the role of greenhouse gas emissions in global warming and disagreed on whether the Env­­ir­on­mental …

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.

U.S. Bans Sale of IPods to North Korea  —  WASHINGTON — The Bush administration wants North Korea's attention, so like a scolding parent it's trying to make it tougher for that country's eccentric leader to buy iPods, plasma televisions and Segway electric scooters.

Surge in Violence Shocks Even Weary Mexico  —  Drug Killings Nearly Doubled In Past Year  —  ZIHUATANEJO, Mexico — Andr?s Sauzo collects newspapers, astoundingly grisly newspapers.  —  There's the one with the close-up shot of a severed human head.  There's the one with the wide-angle of a man hacked to death with a machete.

Drunken DeVito Slams Bush on ABC's 'View' (with Video)  —  As Matt Drudge reported earlier, actor Danny DeVito seemed drunk when he went on an anti-Bush tirade on ABC's The View on Wednesday.  DeVito recounted how he last visited the White House during the Clinton years, warmly noting that …

HANK'S NEW LADY  —  GREENBERG PUTS SQUEEZE ON PINCH'S PAPER  —  Billionaire insurance titan Maurice "Hank" Greenberg has begun buying huge blocks of New York Times stock to break the Sulzberger family's stranglehold on the media empire, The Post has learned.

Controversy over Pentagon's war-spending plan  —  The emergency request of at least $127 billion is criticized as a wish list.  The military cites a big need to buy equipment.  —  WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is preparing an emergency spending proposal that could be larger and broader …

Freshly Baked Handouts Forbidden in Fairfax  —  County Says Health Of Homeless Is at Issue  —  The casserole has been canned.  —  Under a tough new Fairfax County policy, residents can no longer donate food prepared in their homes or a church kitchen — be it a tuna casserole …

Pro-Peace Symbol Forces Win Battle in Colorado Town  —  Peace is fighting back in Pagosa Springs.  —  Last week, a couple were threatened with fines of $25 a day by their homeowners' association unless they removed a four-foot wreath shaped like a peace symbol from the front of their house.

The Nancy I Knew  —  Nancy Pelosi tried to snatch an early victory in the race for party whip in the summer of 1999.  Her tactic was essentially a blitzkrieg, a fast sweep of the Democratic caucus that would wrap up the contest before Members left for the August Congressional recess.

The N-Word  —  UNMENTIONABLE LESSONS OF THE MIDTERM AFTERMATH.  —  There's been something weird about the denouement of the midterm elections, starting with the pronounced absence of Democratic triumphalism.  The prevailing mood has been stunned relief rather than glee …