Republicans Halt Ethics Legislation  —  Senate Republicans scuttled broad legislation last night to curtail lobbyists' influence and tighten congressional ethics rules, refusing to let the bill pass without a vote on an unrelated measure that would give President Bush virtual line-item-veto power.

McCain no longer rocks in Granite State  —  As Mitt, Hillary, Barack and a dozen others jump into the presidential stampede, something interesting is happening in New Hampshire.  —  For seven years, conventional wisdom has said that the state's pivotal independent voters would line …

An American in Paris  —  Buchwald launched his career as a columnist in 1949 in Paris, where he wrote about the light side of Paris nightlife in the European edition of the New York Herald Tribune.  He returned to the United States around 1962 and moved to Washington, where he began writing columns filled …

BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY TO ALLOW REBUTTAL AFTER CARTER SPEECH  —  WASHINGTON — Former President Jimmy Carter won't go unchallenged after his appearance next week at Brandeis University, where he is lecturing on his latest book about what he terms the Palestinian apartheid by Israel.

Bush Retreats on Use of Executive Power  —  Allowing Court's Role in Surveillance Is Latest Step Back  —  President Bush's decision to submit his warrantless-surveillance program to the jurisdiction of a special intelligence court represents the latest step back from the expansive interpretation …

After Iraq Trip, Clinton Proposes War Limits  —  Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday called President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq "a losing strategy" and proposed placing new limits on the White House's conduct of the war.  —  Her comments came after a weekend trip to Iraq …

Speaking Chic to Power  —  LAUDING someone for their style on Capitol Hill is a lot like celebrating the best surfer on Florida's Gulf Coast — it's all relative, and some would argue irrelevant.  Washington has never embraced fashion (nor, for that matter, has the fashion world embraced Washington), and for understandable reasons.

Weather Channel Climate Expert Calls for Decertifying Global Warming Skeptics  —  Posted by Marc Morano 202-224-5762 marc_morano@epw.senate.gov (8:50pm ET)  —  The Weather Channel's most prominent climatologist is advocating that broadcast meteorologists be stripped of their scientific certification …

FOX NEWS POLL: MOST THINK TROOP SURGE IS BUSH'S LAST CHANCE IN IRAQ  —  NEW YORK — A majority of Americans consider President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq his last chance for victory there, according to a new FOX News poll.  —  Overall, the president's plan receives only minority support …

Area Readers Get the Joke  —  The Onion, the Gen-X satiric newspaper, is coming to Washington and will partner with The Washington Post, which will print the paper and sell local ads.  —  The Onion, which also maintains a Web site, will be distributed free in news boxes and by hawkers in Washington beginning the first week in April.

Clinton Remains the Front-runner Among Democrats  —  McCain and Giuliani are front-runners among Republicans  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Although the first primaries and caucuses of the 2008 presidential race are still one year away, there has already been a great deal of focus on the election.

Bush Faces Deepening War Opposition, Demand for Congress to Act  —  Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush failed to rally public support with his nationally televised speech announcing plans to send more soldiers to Iraq, as most Americans say they want Congress to find a way to stop the troop increase.

Dems to AG: How Many Prosecutors Have You Pushed Out?  —  At an oversight hearing this morning, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) grilled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales over the sudden departure of several U.S. Attorneys at the administration's request.  —  "How many U.S. Attorneys have been asked to resign in the past year?"

Time Inc. Lays Off More Than 250  —  Time Inc. began laying off more than 250 people today at its top magazines, including its most profitable title, People, which said it was shutting down its Washington, Miami and Chicago bureaus entirely.  —  Employees in those bureaus said they were …

Report: Washington rejected Iranian concessions in 2003  —  LONDON (AP) — An Iranian offer to help the United States stabilize Iraq and end its military support for Hezbollah and Hamas was turned down by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in 2003, a former top State Department official told the British Broadcasting Corp.