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 …

Majority in Senate support 'stay the course' resolution  —  A bipartisan majority in the Senate yesterday united behind a firm "stay the course" resolution on the war in Iraq, despite searing public criticism from both sides in Congress over President Bush's handling of the war.

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 …

F.B.I. Agent Says Libby Denied Being Leak Source  —  An F.B.I. agent told a jury Thursday that I. Lewis Libby Jr. "claimed" during formal interviews she conducted that he had not disclosed to two reporters the identity of Valerie Wilson, a Central Intelligence Agency operative.

On paper, Rudy's unsure  —  Giuliani's government filings don't lend hints to his presidential run - he hasn't submitted a declaration form or checked the Republican box  —  WASHINGTON - Republicans looking at Rudolph Giuliani's campaign for president always ask two questions - is he really running, and is he a "real Republican?"

Police praise Muslim soldiers who acted as 'bait' for beheading gang  —  Two British Muslim soldiers targeted by the alleged beheading gang were used in an extraordinary "sting" operation to snare their assassins, it has emerged.  —  The courageous pair agreed to act like "tethered goats" …

NIE: The Surge Can't Work  —  Wow, this is grim.  According to the just-released Key Judgments of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, political reconciliation is likely a bridge too far over the next year and a half.  —  The Sunnis remain "unwilling to accept minority status" …

Exxon and Shell Report Record Profits for 2006  —  Oil prices have fallen, but Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell left their smaller competitors in the dust and reported record annual profits Thursday.  —  By making $180 million a day between them, the two largest publicly traded oil companies displayed …

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 …

Who's to Blame for The Killing  —  This week the internecine warfare in Iraq, already bewildering — Sunni vs. Shiite, Kurd vs. Arab, jihadist vs. infidel, with various Iranians, Syrians and assorted freelancers thrown into the maelstrom — went bizarre.  In one of the biggest battles of the war …

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 …

Punxsutawney Phil predicts early spring  —  PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. - A new pair of hands pulled Punxsutawney Phil from his stump this year, so it was only fitting that the groundhog offered a new prediction.  —  Phil did not see his shadow on Friday, which, according to German folklore …

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.

Limbaugh Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize  —  While not being able to keep up with all of his many accomplishments over the years, I do speak from personal experience when I say Rush Limbaugh's 1992 Best Seller The Way Things Ought To Be may have done more to carry discussion of conservative ideas …

Border Policy's Success Strains Resources  —  Tent City in Texas Among Immigrant Holding Sites Drawing Criticism  —  RAYMONDVILLE, Tex. — Ringed by barbed wire, a futuristic tent city rises from the Rio Grande Valley in the remote southern tip of Texas, the largest camp …