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 …

Eleven Palestinians killed in ferocious Gaza fighting  —  Eleven Palestinians were killed, including two children - aged eight and five - in ferocious fighting Friday between Hamas and Fatah gunmen.  —  Also among the dead were a Palestinian Authority intelligence commander, his bodyguard …

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 …

Dr. Coburn Votes to Protect Salaries of Low-Income Families from Flawed Wage Bill  —  (WASHINGTON, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement today regarding his vote against, H.R. 2, the Minimum Wage Act:  —  "This bill is unfair to workers and …

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 …

Nobel Piece Prize  —  What global warming has to do with peace is beyond me.  Let me guess.  Us hill dwellers won't have to do battle with the beach dwellers over real estate.  Thanks to Al Gore.  —  But what effect Al Gore has had on the issue, also beyond me.  His faux-science laden movie will not make the Earth cooler.

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 …

An Inarticulate Kickoff  —  What is it, exactly, that white people mean when they call a black person "articulate"?  —  I'll leave it to Joe Biden to explain (or figure out) why he used "clean" as one of a logorrheic string of adjectives describing his Senate colleague Barack Obama.

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 …

Compromise Senate Measure Rebuffing Bush's Iraq Buildup Gathers Support  —  A revised Senate resolution criticizing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq drew new support Thursday as two authors of a sterner resolution of disapproval said they would accept the compromise, fashioned by Senator John W. Warner.

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.

Molly Ivins Shook the Walls With Her Clarion Call  —  The walls have not come down, but they have been given a serious shaking.  —  That Jericho voice is stilled now.  —  Molly Ivins has been quieted.  —  The writer and journalist, dearly loved and admired by many, hated and feared by many …

Florida Shifting to Voting System With Paper Trail  —  Gov. Charlie Crist announced plans on Thursday to abandon the touch-screen voting machines that many of Florida's counties installed after the disputed 2000 presidential election.  The state will instead adopt a system of casting paper ballots counted …

Cartoon promotion goes awry and causes bomb scare in Boston  —  From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!  —  Two men alleged to have placed the boxes have been charged, and Turner Broadcast Systems apologized.  Boston's mayor will pursue compensation to the city for the cost of the scare.