Official says Fla. execution was botched  —  OCALA, Fla. - Gov. Jeb Bush suspended all executions in Florida after a medical examiner said Friday that prison officials botched the insertion of the needles when a convicted killer was put to death earlier this week.

Carter Nixes Debate With Outspoken Prof  —  Former President Carter turned down a request to debate Alan Dershowitz about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying the outspoken Harvard law professor "knows nothing about the situation."  —  Carter, author of a new book advocating …

Military Considers Sending as Many as 35,000 More U.S. Troops to Iraq, McCain Says  —  Senator John McCain said Thursday that American military commanders were discussing the possibility of adding as many as 10 more combat brigades — a maximum of about 35,000 troops — to …

Head of DNA lab says he and Nifong agreed not to report results  —  The head of a private DNA laboratory said under oath today that he and District Attorney Mike Nifong agreed not to report DNA results favorable to Duke lacrosse players charged with rape.  —  Brian Meehan, director …

Matt Damon: Ship the Bush Twins off to Iraq  —  Robert De Niro and Matt Damon will be on Hardball next week, so they played a little teaser clip for us.  Damon thinks that all of America should share the burden of war and maybe the Bush Twins could be serving our country better shopping in Baghdad.

Border Fence Firm Snared for Hiring Illegal Workers  —  · A fence-building company in Southern California agrees to pay nearly $5 million in fines for hiring illegal immigrants.  Two executives from the company may also serve jail time.  The Golden State Fence Company's work includes …

HostGator Will Not Stand Up For Clients' Free Speech  —  Stop the ACLU and My Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy have a disturbing story for those of us who defend freedom of speech through our blogging; a hosting service has shut down a blogger for voicing a controversial satire.

The Mendacity Of the Liberal Press  —  The first time I heard the word "mendacity" was in the film "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."  I loved the way Burl Ives's character spits out the word as something vile and unacceptable.  —  Unfortunately, we live in a society where untruthfulness …

The Chinese Economy: Progress and Challenges  —  The emergence of China as a global economic power is one of the most important developments of recent decades.  For the past twenty years, the Chinese economy has achieved a growth rate averaging nearly 10 percent per year, resulting in a quintupling of output per person.

Legislators Vote for Gay Unions in N.J.  —  The Legislature voted on Thursday to make New Jersey the third state in the nation to recognize civil unions for same-sex couples.  In doing so, it moved quickly to fulfill a court mandate to provide equal rights to gay couples but frustrated people on both sides of the emotional issue.

Castro Near Death, U.S. Intelligence Chief Says  —  Cuban President Fidel Castro is very ill and close to death, Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte said yesterday.  —  "Everything we see indicates it will not be much longer . . . months, not years," Negroponte told a meeting of Washington Post editors and reporters.

Press Briefing by Tony Snow  —  White House Conference Center Briefing Room  —  MR. SNOW: Just a quick preliminary note, and then I'll be happy to take questions.  —  Prime Minister Maliki tomorrow is convening another national reconciliation conference for political leaders from across Iraq.