FBI Agent Testifies Libby Learned About Plame from Cheney  —  WASHINGTON The "CIA leak" trial resumed today, after two critical days of testimony from reporters Judith Miller and Matt Cooper.  As in past days, E&P will provide running updates here.  —  After a long day or legal wrangling …

Two plead not guilty to Boston hoax charges … CHARLESTOWN, Massachusetts (CNN) — Two men pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges they created panic by placing "bomblike" electronic light boards displaying a cartoon character with an upraised middle finger throughout Boston.

Senate ups wage to $7.25 over two years  —  WASHINGTON - The Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to boost the federal minimum wage by $2.10 to $7.25 an hour over two years, but packaged the increase with controversial tax cuts for small businesses and higher taxes for many $1 million-plus executives.

Landmark Legal Foundation Nominates Rush Limbaugh for 2007 Nobel Peace Prize  —  Contact: Eric Christensen of Landmark Legal Foundation, +1-703-554-6100, +1-703-554-6119 (fax), eric@landmarklegal.org  —  LEESBURG, Va., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Landmark Legal Foundation today nominated …

Mahdi Army gains strength through unwitting aid of U.S.  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military drive to train and equip Iraq's security forces has unwittingly strengthened anti-American Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which has been battling to take over much of the capital city …

A Note to My Readers on Supporting the Troops  —  I knew when I used the word "mercenary" in my Tuesday column that I was being highly inflammatory.  —  NBC News ran a piece in which enlisted soldiers in Iraq expressed frustration about waning American support.

Scientists offered cash to dispute climate study  —  Scientists and economists have been offered $10,000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world's largest oil companies to undermine a major climate change report due to be published today.  —  Letters sent by the American Enterprise Institute …

Senators Challenge Gen. Casey On Iraq War  —  Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Bush administration's nominee to be the Army chief of staff, got an unusually harsh reception yesterday from some members of the Senate Armed Services Committee for his performance as the top U.S. commander in Iraq …

Iraq at Risk of Further Strife, Intelligence Report Warns  —  A long-awaited National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, presented to President Bush by the intelligence community yesterday, outlines an increasingly perilous situation in which the United States has little control …

McCain, Giuliani Skipping Some Conservative Events  —  A speech given by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney before a National Review-sponsored conference last week may have been panned as unfocused, but in the eyes of those who attended, he at least had one thing going for him: He showed up.

Blog news  —  Beginning next Thursday, February 8, this blog will be moving to Salon, where it will be a featured front-page blog (full access to Salon is available by subscribing or for free, by clicking through an ad to obtain a 24 hour day pass).  I will also be a Salon Contributing Writer and will write …

The 'Lame Duck' Label  —  With a series of media events, President Bush is working hard to avoid the negative tag as he enters the last two years of his presidency.  —  On Tuesday, President Bush popped in for a surprise visit to the Sterling Family Restaurant, a homey diner in Peoria …

Video: Blackfive rips William Arkin on "The Big Story"; Update: John Gibson interviews Arkin  —  The boss couldn't make it today so Matt Burden, a.k.a., B5, pinch hit.  —  Did he write the line about Hugo Chavez beforehand?  I think he did.  —  Update: Sigh.