Bush accepts Bolton's U.N. resignation  —  WASHINGTON - Unable to win Senate confirmation, U.N. Ambassador John Bolton will step down when his temporary appointment expires within weeks, the White House said Monday.  —  Bolton's nomination has languished in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee …

Videotape Offers a Window Into a Terror Suspect's Isolation  —  One spring day during his three and a half years as an enemy combatant, Jose Padilla experienced a break from the monotony of his solitary confinement in a bare cell in the brig at the Naval Weapons Station in Charleston, S.C.

Lawmakers Wrapping Up Session but Leaving Loose Ends  —  Republicans intend to conclude the 109th Congress this week and leave Democrats stuck with the tab in the form of unfinished spending bills as the days of Republican rule draw to a close on Capitol Hill.

Global Warming Gag Order  —  Senators to Exxon: Shut up, and pay up.  —  Washington has no shortage of bullies, but even we can't quite believe an October 27 letter that Senators Jay Rockefeller and Olympia Snowe sent to ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson.  Its message: Start toeing the Senators' line on climate change, or else.

So Now What, Mr. President?  —  Folks used to wonder why he didn't push into Baghdad.  Baker doesn't hear that question much anymore.  —  George W. Bush was doing everything he doesn't usually like to do.  He was traveling in foreign lands (when Bush campaigns, he likes to fly home every night to sleep in his own bed).

The alleged war atrocity that the NYTimes can't substantiate  —  ***update: video - Jules Crittenden on Fox***  —  The controversy over the Associated Press' coverage of the alleged burning of six burning Sunnis in Hurriya, Iraq last month continues—even if most of the media refuses to confront it.

Iraqi Army division deepens discord  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - The overwhelmingly Shiite Muslim military force at the forefront of U.S. and Iraqi plans to secure one of the nation's most fractious provinces is accused of arresting hundreds of Sunni men on little or no evidence …

Biden charms local GOP  —  It was unlike most Columbia Rotary Club luncheons.  —  The speaker was U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, a likely candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.  —  The chief topic: the Iraq war.  —  The audience: predominantly Republican.

Bush Is Weighing Options for New Strategy in Iraq, Aide Says  —  Hadley Says Previously Rejected Ideas Are on Table, Including Suggestions in Rumsfeld's Memo  —  Nearly four years after invading Iraq, President Bush is sorting through an array of options — none of them easy — for a way out …

Democrats Who Opposed War Move Into Key Positions  —  New Committee Chairmen Had Warned of Postwar Disorder  —  Although given little public credit at the time, or since, many of the 126 House Democrats who spoke out and voted against the October 2002 resolution that gave President Bush authority …

Daschle Will Not Seek Presidency  —  He served as a senator representing South Dakotans in Washington for more than 25 years and has invested more than a year laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign.  —  Tom Daschle was expected to make a decision about running for president …

National Health Care?  We're Halfway There  —  WHEN Democrats assume control of Congress next month, they may be dusting off some long-dormant proposals on how to deal with the growing disconnect between health insurance and employment.  From 2000 to 2005, the proportion of workers aged 18 …

Clinton's Talks With Democrats May Signal Bid for President  —  Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun a calculated series of meetings with top New York Democratic officials to signal that she is likely to run for the presidency in 2008 and to ask for their support if she does …

Anger at UN chief's Iraq comments  —  Iraq's national security adviser says he is shocked by UN head Kofi Annan's suggestion that the average Iraqi is worse off than under Saddam Hussein.  —  Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie also accused the UN of shying away from its responsibility towards the Iraqi people.