Sen. Johnson in Critical Condition After Surgery  —  Control of Chamber Could Be in Question if He Cannot Serve  —  Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) underwent emergency brain surgery overnight after falling ill at the Capitol and was in critical condition early this morning, introducing a note …

Looking for Jamil Hussein: Accepting Eason Jordan's invitation  —  My new travel partner?  —  Eason Jordan reports on his new website, Iraqslogger, that his team is in Baghdad looking for Jamil Hussein.  They have not found him yet—which is newsworthy in itself—and get this …

War-Weary Public Wants Congress to Lead  —  Poll Shows Desire for Lawmakers to Set Policy  —  Amid Growing Dismay Over Iraq, President Bush  —  WASHINGTON — Falling public support for the war in Iraq has weakened President Bush's political hand across the board, bolstering the clout …

Judge Rejects Detention Challenge of Bin Laden's Driver  —  A federal judge dismissed yesterday a challenge from Osama bin Laden's driver over his more than four years of detention at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, saying a new anti-terrorism law approved by Congress this fall removes the lower court's jurisdiction in the matter.

Ignoring Bush policy, senator meets Syrian president  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — In a direct affront to the Bush administration, a Democratic senator spent an hour Wednesday with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus, asking him to do more to stabilize Iraq.

'04 Pentagon Report Cited Detention Concerns  —  A previously undisclosed Pentagon report concluded that the three terrorism suspects held at a brig in South Carolina were subjected to months of isolation, and it warned that their "unique" solitary confinement could be viewed as violating U.S. detention standards.

Edwards leads in poll of likely caucusgoers  —  Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack is in fourth place; Sen. Hillary Clinton is second.  —  Washington, D.C. - John Edwards came out far ahead of the rest of the pack of possible Democratic presidential candidates in a poll of Iowa Democrats conducted …

Joint Chiefs Advise Change In War Strategy  —  Leaders Seek No Major Troop Increase, Urge Shift in Focus to Support of Iraqi Army  —  The nation's top uniformed leaders are recommending that the United States change its main military mission in Iraq from combating insurgents to supporting Iraqi troops …

Reagan Would Not Repeat Amnesty Mistake  —  This is the fifth in an occasional series of exclusive articles in which leading conservatives who served in the Reagan Administration explain how they believe the principles of Reagan conservatism ought to be applied today and in the coming years.

U.S. Subpoena Is Seen as Bid to Stop Leaks  —  Federal prosecutors are trying to force the American Civil Liberties Union to turn over copies of a classified document it received from a source, using what legal experts called a new extension of the Bush administration's efforts to protect national-security secrets.

Latina High School Student: "What Rights Do I Have?"  —  Some of you may be aware of the recent immigration sweep by the federal government at meatpacking plants around the country over the last week.  The ICE surrounded places of work, corralled the adults and took people into custody …

Democrats Plan to Take Control of Iraq Spending  —  Frustrated by the Bush administration's piecemeal financing of the Iraq war, Democrats are planning to assert more control over the billions of dollars a month being spent on the conflict when they take charge of Congress in January.

The real purpose behind the imam publicity blitz  —  On Dec. 1, a curious report on the grounded-imams incident at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport appeared on the website of the Iranian Quran News Agency.  The report quoted extensively from Madhi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation.

Police: Gunmen kidnap dozens in Baghdad  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen in military uniforms kidnapped dozens of people Thursday from a major commercial area in central Baghdad, the second mass abduction in the capital in a month.  —  The attackers drove up to the busy al-Sanak area …

Voters favor McCain over Clinton in '08  —  But the Republican faces hurdles within his own party.  Overall, those surveyed in a Times/Bloomberg poll say they want a Democrat in the White House.  —  WASHINGTON — Democrats have an overwhelmingly favorable view of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton …