White House, Joint Chiefs At Odds on Adding Troops  —  The Bush administration is split over the idea of a surge in troops to Iraq, with White House officials aggressively promoting the concept over the unanimous disagreement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to U.S. officials familiar with the intense debate.

Mystery Surfaces Over Apartment of Kofi Annan  —  As Secretary-General Annan prepares to leave his post at the United Nations, a mystery is surfacing surrounding his apartment on Roosevelt Island, subsidized by New York taxpayers, which is still in use by the family of his brother, Kobina Annan.

Senator Removes His Block on Federal Court Nominee  —  Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, who blocked the confirmation of a woman to the federal bench because she attended a same-sex commitment ceremony for the daughter of her long-time neighbors, says he will now allow a vote on the nomination.

Hillary Clinton Says She Wouldn't Have Voted For Iraq War  —  ABC News' David Chalian Reports: As Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton continues to assess a possible presidential candidacy and the contours of a Democratic nomination fight, she has taken another step away from her 2002 vote authorizing President Bush …

Libya sentences medics to death  —  A Libyan court has sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death for knowingly infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV.  —  The medics have been in detention since 1999, during which time 52 of the 426 infected children have died of Aids.

Election Seen as Setback for Iran's President  —  Partial returns from Friday's Iranian elections suggested today that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had experienced a major setback barely over a year after his own election.  —  The victory of a pragmatic politician, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani …

Walking a Beat With "Capt. Jamil Hussein"  —  If Michelle Malkin is still planning on a trip to Iraq to track down the infamous "Captain Jamil Hussein", she'd better pack her hiking shoes.  Because he walks a pretty hard beat.  —  I think I may have been the first to notice the significance …

Please Let It Be Whale Vomit, Not Just Sea Junk  —  MONTAUK, N.Y. — In this season of strange presents from relatives, Dorothy Ferreira got a doozy the other day from her 82-year-old sister in Waterloo, Iowa.  It was ugly.  It weighed four pounds.  There was no receipt in the box.

Pelosi preparing new shackles for free speech  —  WASHINGTON - Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has cooked up with Public Citizen's Joan Claybrook a "lobbying reform" that actually protects rich special interests and activists millionaires while clamping new shackles on citizens …

Democrats leave Bono disappointed  —  Anti-poverty activist gets no promise of funds  —  Meetings in Washington last Thursday between rock star Bono and Democrats, including Senate leader Harry Reid of Nevada, yielded a nice photo-op but not much else, according to Bono.

Iraqi Ex-Minister Escapes Jail in Green Zone  —  Iraq's former electricity minister, the most senior official arrested on corruption charges here, made a brazen escape Sunday afternoon from an Iraqi jail in the heavily fortified Green Zone.  —  There were conflicting reports about how the former official …

Video: "Open Season"; Update: Video banned from honors at YouTube?  —  Anti-jihad nu metal.  I never thought I'd see the day.  —  The band is Stuck Mojo from Atlanta.  The lyrics are here; the guitarist posted some thoughts about the song on his fan site.  You will recognize, and appreciate, the sentiments.

Runner Fails Gender Test, Loses Medal  —  An Indian runner who won a silver medal in the women's 800 meters at the Asian Games failed a gender test and was stripped of the medal.  —  Shanti Sounderajan, 25, took the gender test in Doha, Qatar, after placing second.