U.S. Considers Ending Outreach to Insurgents  —  The Bush administration is deliberating whether to abandon U.S. reconciliation efforts with Sunni insurgents and instead give priority to Shiites and Kurds, who won elections and now dominate the government, according to U.S. officials.

Report: Italian tests positive for deadly toxin  —  Academic had lunch with ex-spy on day he fell ill; autopsy under way … LONDON - An Italian security expert who met with a former KGB agent the day the ex-spy fell fatally ill with radiation poisoning has also tested positive for the substance, British media reported Friday.

McCain Courts Crucial Support of Governors  —  Last anyone checked, Senator John McCain of Arizona is not — and has never been — a governor.  —  But no matter.  Mr. McCain turned up on Thursday morning at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa here for a guerrillalike visit to the annual meeting of the Republican Governors Association.

Illegal immigrants toiled for governor  —  Guatemalans say firm hired them  —  This story was reported by Jonathan Saltzman and Maria Cramer of the Globe staff and by Globe correspondent Connie Paige and was written by Saltzman.  —  SUCHITEPEQUEZ, Guatemala — Outside his aqua-colored concrete house here …

Hezbollah, allies protest in Beirut  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hundreds of thousands of protesters from Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian opposition allies massed Friday in downtown Beirut seeking to force the resignation of Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who was holed up in his office ringed by hundreds of police and combat troops.

Aides: Pelosi taps Reyes to head intelligence committee … WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi has chosen a Border-Patrol-agent-turned-congressman to lead the House intelligence committee, according to congressional aides.  —  Democratic leaders are contacting congressional …

Security Of Electronic Voting Is Condemned  —  Paper Systems Should Be Included, Agency Says  —  Paperless electronic voting machines used throughout the Washington region and much of the country "cannot be made secure," according to draft recommendations issued this week by a federal agency …

As Obama Moves, Clinton Team Starts To Interview, Quietly  —  Select members of Sen. Hillary Clinton's political team have started to interview Democrats who might one day fill senior and mid-level positions in Clinton's yet-to-be-announced presidential campaign.

Democratic Power Struggle  —  The most important tension within the new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives is not between liberals and conservatives or free traders and fair traders.  It is between older members who once enjoyed the power and perks of majority status …

Dollar slides as US business slows  —  The dollar suffered sharp falls on Thursday, hit by reports of weak US business activity and a benign inflation picture.  —  The euro rose .7 per cent against the dollar to $1.3247 by late afternoon in New York after data from Chicago purchasing managers indicated …