U.S. sustains 3,000th fatality in Iraq  —  Texas soldier's death raises toll to new milestone; Bush weighs his options  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Pentagon announced the death of a Texas soldier on Sunday, raising the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 3,000 since the war began, according to an Associated Press count.

Bush Has Quietly Tripled Aid to Africa  —  Increase in Funding to Impoverished Continent Is Viewed as Altruistic or Pragmatic  —  President Bush's legacy is sure to be defined by his wielding of U.S. military power in Afghanistan and Iraq, but there is another, much softer and less-noticed effort …

Hundreds flock to see Saddam's gravesite  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Hundreds of Iraqis flocked to the village where Saddam Hussein was born on Sunday to see the deposed leader buried in a religious compound 24 hours after his execution.  —  Dozens of relatives and others, some of them crying and moaning …

Poll: Americans see gloom, doom in 2007  —  WASHINGTON - Another terrorist attack, a warmer planet, death and destruction from a natural disaster.  These are among Americans' grim predictions for the United States in 2007.  —  Only a minority of people think the U.S. will go to war with Iran …

Next Order of Business  —  From Tripoli to Syria to Teheran to Beirut to Pyongyang, how many of Saddam Hussein's fellow travelers involuntarily rubbed their own necks as the world was treated to this spectacle of justice for once achieved and not cynically subverted?  —  Heads up, Khaddafy, Assad and Ahmadinejad.

President's Radio Address  —  Remembering President Gerald R. Ford (1913-2006)  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.  This week, as Americans prepare to welcome a new year, we do so with heavy hearts and fond memories of our 38th President, Gerald R. Ford.  We mourn the passing of a courageous leader …

Hundreds of Turks injured in Muslim animal sacrifice  —  Hundreds of Turks spent the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha holiday in emergency wards today after stabbing themselves or suffering other injuries while sacrificing startled and agitated animals.

Hillary falls to earth in poll race  —  THE first vote is still more than a year away, but the campaign to replace President George W Bush in the White House is already throwing up surprises.  —  Unfortunately for Senator Hillary Clinton, long the front-runner in the Democratic drive to retake …

For Guantánamo Review Boards, Limits Abound  —  GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — At one end of a converted trailer in the American military detention center here, a graying Pakistani businessman sat shackled before a review board of uniformed officers, pleading for his freedom.

Conyers accepts responsibility for possible ethics violations  —  Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has "accepted responsibility" for possibly violating House rules by requiring his official staff to perform campaign-related work, according to a statement quietly released by the House ethics committee late Friday evening.

Area Somalis want peace for homeland  —  Many of the 1,500 protesters in Minneapolis were angered that the U.S. gave tacit support for ousting of Islamists.  —  More than a thousand Somalis gathered in Minneapolis on Saturday to call for Ethiopian troops to withdraw immediately from Somalia.

Old Tapes  —  I know the young folks despair at the way we moldering relics of the Baby Boom can't let go of Vietnam.  Let me say forthrightly that I know how you feel.  —  Imagine being a teenager in the mid-1960s and lusting after the Correges-style boots the other girls were wearing …

Robert Fisk: He takes his secrets to the grave.  Our complicity dies with him  —  How the West armed Saddam, fed him intelligence on his 'enemies', equipped him for atrocities - and then made sure he wouldn't squeal  —  We've shut him up.  The moment Saddam's hooded executioner pulled …

Google's Tipping Point  —  Taken in a vacuum, a fairly trivial thing happened a few days ago.  The co-founder of Firefox, Blake Ross, wrote a post criticizing Google called "Tip: Trust is hard to gain, easy to lose".  He takes issue with a new Google search feature that promotes certain …

New Years Eve Bombs Shake Up Bangkok  —  Seven bombs were exploded across downtown Bangkok on New Years Eve as revelers began to turnout for dinner and the evening's festivities.  The first bomb exploded at the Victory Monument, an area crowded with food stalls, the terminus for small commuter vans from the northern districts.

AP Poll: Americans Optimistic for 2007 … WASHINGTON (AP) — The news from Iraq and other national headlines may be grim, but in Greenville, N.C., John Given has a new baby and his first home, and life is good.  —  So, too, for Sandra Trowbridge in tiny Magnet Cove, Ark. The situation …

Prosecutorial Indiscretion  —  "THE PROSECUTOR has more control over life, liberty and reputation than any other person in America.  His discretion is tremendous.  He can have citizens investigated, and, if he is that kind of person, he can have this done to the tune of public statements and veiled or unveiled intimations."