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 …

Iraq, Iran reach agreement on security  —  TEHRAN, Iran - Iraq's president said Wednesday he had reached a security agreement with Iran, which the United States accuses of fueling the chaos in the war-torn country.  Iran's president called on countries to stop backing "terrorists" in Iraq and for the Americans to withdraw.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

50 Shots  —  Around 4 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25, several New York City police officers in plain clothes fired an estimated 50 shots at a car, wounding two black men and killing a third, 23-year-old Sean Bell.  Some police bullets penetrated nearby homes.  Although an undercover officer …

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.

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.

Marshals decry imams' charges  —  Air marshals, pilots and security officials yesterday expressed concern that airline passengers and crews will be reluctant to report suspicious behavior aboard for fear of being called "racists," after several Muslim imams made that charge in a press conference Monday …

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 …

Lawyer wrongly arrested in bombings: 'We lived in 1984' … PORTLAND, Oregon (CNN) — The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday it is paying $2 million and apologizing to an Oregon lawyer wrongly accused of being involved with the 2004 train bombings in Madrid, Spain.