Clinton Announces Step Toward '08 Bid  —  Six years after making history by winning a United States Senate seat as first lady, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton announced this morning that she was taking the first formal step to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 …

Dirge for a 'Surge'  —  In the latest NEWSWEEK poll Bush's approval rating remains at its all-time low as his plan to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq is met with widespread disapproval.  Looking to '08, declared candidate Hillary Clinton is in a statistical dead heat with other potential nominees.

National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2007  —  A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America  —  America was founded on the principle that we are all endowed by our Creator with the right to life and that every individual has dignity and worth.

State aims for Feb. 5 primary to boost clout  —  The move from June 3 would give California more influence in the 2008 presidential race.  —  SACRAMENTO — With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's backing, state lawmakers from both parties are moving rapidly to make California a player in choosing …

Former FEMA head in NYC: party politics played role in Katrina response  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Political storm clouds gathered again over the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina as former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown said party politics influenced decisions …

Media Blackout: "I Shot the Non-Muslim"  —  The assassination of Turkish-Armenian writer Hrant Dink is being universally portrayed as ethnic strife, a political act by Turkish nationalists against an Armenian critic.  —  Call me Mr. Suspicious, but when I see the entire media monolith pushing …

How Arafat Got Away with Murder  —  The State Department covered up his responsibility for the 1973 slaughter of two American diplomats.  —  Twenty years before he joined Bill Clinton and Yitzhak Rabin in Washington for that famous handshake—and proceeded to become Clinton's …

Unbowed  —  Joe Lieberman: "It is critical that we take advantage of this opportunity to win."  —  WASHINGTON—The war in Iraq brings to Joe Lieberman's mind an old Mark Twain story.  "When a cat jumps on a hot stove, the cat never jumps on the stove again because the cat always assumes the stove is hot …

Leading Senator Assails President Over Iran Stance  —  The new chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Friday sharply criticized the Bush administration's increasingly combative stance toward Iran, saying that White House efforts to portray it as a growing threat are uncomfortably reminiscent …

Chavez admits Castro gravely ill  —  Cuban leader Fidel Castro is battling to save his life, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said.  —  Mr Chavez, a close friend of Cuba's left-wing leader, said he hoped Mr Castro would recover but admitted he faced a hard struggle.