Cheney Defends Efforts to Obtain Financial Records  —  Vice President Dick Cheney yesterday defended efforts by the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency to obtain financial records of Americans suspected of terrorism or espionage, calling the practice a "perfectly legitimate activity" …

Saddam Hussein's Co-Defendants Hanged  —  Half Brother and Chief Judge Condemned With Deposed Iraqi Leader  —  The Iraqi government executed two of Saddam Hussein's associates early Monday morning for their participation in crimes against humanity, according to an Iraqi official.

U.S. and Iraqis Are Wrangling Over War Plans  —  Just days after President Bush unveiled a new war plan calling for more than 20,000 additional American troops in Iraq, the heart of the effort — a major push to secure the capital — faces some of its fiercest resistance from the very people …

Saddam half brother, ex-official hanged  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein's half brother and the former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court were both hanged before dawn Monday, Prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon said, two weeks and two days after the former Iraqi dictator was executed in a chaotic scene that has drawn worldwide criticism.

Administration leaving out important details on Iraq  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush and his aides, explaining their reasons for sending more American troops to Iraq, are offering an incomplete, oversimplified and possibly untrue version of events there that raises new questions about the accuracy …

HILL JABS AT JOHN  —  TAKES HER FIRST SHOT VS. AN '08 PREZ FOE  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton last night ripped into 2008 White House contender John Edwards - her first direct assault on any of her potential Democratic presidential rivals.  —  Clinton's surprising broadside came just hours after Edwards …

Bloggers Take on Talk Radio Hosts  —  A San Francisco talk radio station pre-empted three hours of programming on Friday in response to a campaign by bloggers who have recorded extreme comments by several hosts and passed on digital copies to advertisers.  —  The lead blogger …

Will Saudis Ban the Letter 'X'?  —  The letter "X" soon may be banned in Saudi Arabia because it resembles the mother of all banned religious symbols in the oil kingdom: the cross.  —  The new development came with the issuing of another mind-bending fatwa, or religious edict …

Sunday Talkshow Breakdown  —  listed in Iraq / Sunday Talkshow Breakdown  —  The Bushies and their enablers are trying to parlay their last scraps of political credibility by insisting it's either escalation in Iraq or handing over the region to Iran and Al Qaeda, and daring Democrats to prove otherwise.

THE PROPHETIC VOICE  —  When Martin Luther King, Jr. brought his nonviolent campaign against segregation to Bull Connor's Birmingham, he laid siege to the bastion of Jim Crow.  In Birmingham between 1957 and 1962, black churches and homes had been subjected to horrific bombings.

Democrats re-enter stage as protectors of procedure  —  Duty presiding over the houses of Congress can be a parliamentary geek's dream or a shy congressman's nightmare.  —  After 12 years watching Republicans sitting in as the speaker, Democrats are again performing the mundane …

Bill O'Reilly And NBC, Shouting to Make Themselves Seen?  —  A war of words between Bill O'Reilly and NBC has erupted into a shouting match that is overheated, mean-spirited and incredibly entertaining.  —  "NBC News has gone sharply to the left," the Fox News star said on his radio show in early January.

Economists upgrade US outlook after surprisingly strong data  —  Economists are hastily upgrading their forecasts for the US economy after a series of surprisingly strong reports suggesting the so-called "soft landing" may be over and growth is accelerating.

JIMMY FOR TERROR  —  Has a former president of the United States - a Nobel Peace Prize winner, no less - given his blessing to wanton murder and terrorist assaults against Israel?  —  Sure looks that way.  —  How else to read that astonishing statement on page 213 of Jimmy Carter's new anti-Israel screed …