The Arrogant and Intolerant Speak Out  —  Well, one thing's abundantly clear about who will actually defend our rights to say what we believe: It isn't the hundreds who have written me saying they are soldiers or veterans or war supporters or real Americans and who also advise me to move to another country …

Molly Ivins, Columnist, Dies at 62  —  Molly Ivins, the liberal newspaper columnist who delighted in skewering politicians and interpreting, and mocking, her Texas culture, died yesterday in Austin.  She was 62.  —  Ms. Ivins waged a public battle against breast cancer after her diagnosis in 1999.

Bullying Iran  —  Given America's bitter experience in Iraq, one would think that President Bush could finally figure out that threats and brute force aren't a substitute for a reasoned strategy.  But Mr. Bush is at it again, this time trying to bully Iran into stopping its meddling inside Iraq.

Senators Unite On Challenge to Bush's Troop Plan  —  Revised Warner Language That Protects Funds Is Embraced for Bipartisan Appeal  —  Democratic and Republican opponents of President Bush's troop-buildup plan joined forces last night behind the nonbinding resolution with the broadest bipartisan backing …

Two held after ad campaign triggers Boston bomb scare … BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) — Authorities have arrested two men in connection with electronic light boards depicting a middle-finger-waving moon man that triggered repeated bomb scares around Boston on Wednesday and prompted the closure …

Shakes on a Campaign  —  I've got some news, Shakers.  —  I have been offered and have accepted a position as the Netroots Coordinator for John Edwards' presidential campaign, joining an outstanding internet team that now also includes Pandagon's Amanda Marcotte, with whom I'll be working closely.

Sunni Mosques Still Show Damage in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq — Four Sunni mosques attacked in late November in the embattled Hurriyah neighborhood of Baghdad still bear scars from the attacks and all are now either under Shiite Muslim control or closed.  —  Immediately after the Nov. 24 incidents …

Al Qaeda Behind British Beheading Plot; Bakri Mohammed Implicated; Suspects Identified  —  New developments on the raid that rounded up 9 Muslims suspected of plotting to behead a returned British Muslim soldier.  Al Qaeda is now said to be behind the plot, and directed from Pakistan.

U.S. delays report on Iranian role in Iraq  —  WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has postponed plans to offer public details of its charges of Iranian meddling inside Iraq amid internal divisions over the strength of the evidence, U.S. officials said.  —  U.S. officials promised last week …

TWO SENIOR IRAQI GENERALS EYED IN BRAZEN ATTACK ON U.S. SOLDIERS  —  Two senior Iraqi generals are being questioned in connection with last week's attack in Karbala that left five U.S. soldiers dead, Pentagon officials told FOX News Thursday.  —  Military officials also said the level …

Biden Unwraps His Bid for '08 With an Oops!  —  In an era of meticulous political choreography, the staging of the kickoff for this presidential candidacy could hardly have gone worse.  —  Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, who announced his candidacy on Wednesday with the hope …

Sanchez Accuses Democrat of Calling Her a 'Whore,' Resigns from Hispanic Group  —  Rep. Loretta Sanchez has quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, accusing the chairman, Rep. Joe Baca, of telling people she's a "whore."  —  Baca denied the charge.  —  In an interview with The Politico Wednesday …

A Tide For School Choice  —  Fifty-seven years later, Sumner Elementary School in Topeka is back in the news.  That city's board of education is still wrongly preventing the right people from getting into that building.  Two educators wanted to use Sumner for a charter school …

MATIER AND ROSS  —  AIDE QUITS AS NEWSOM'S AFFAIR WITH HIS WIFE IS REVEALED  —  Campaign manager confronts mayor, who is 'in shock'  —  San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's re-election campaign manager resigned Wednesday after confronting the mayor about an affair Newsom had with his wife …

Giuliani: Can hero of 9/11 win over his own party?  —  BRETTON WOODS, N.H. — Rudy Giuliani would seem to have all the credentials a candidate for president could want: A hero of 9/11, a crime-busting federal prosecutor, a two-term Republican mayor in an overwhelmingly Democratic city …

New York Times Reports 4Q Loss of $648M  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times Co. posted a $648 million loss for the fourth quarter on Wednesday as it absorbed an $814.4 million charge to write down the value of its struggling New England properties, The Boston Globe and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Obama decision set for Feb. 10  —  WASHINGTON — When he makes the expected announcement this month that he will run for president, Sen. Barack Obama will do so at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., a venue rich in historic and political significance where Abraham Lincoln served as a lawmaker, lawyer and orator.