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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Right On: The straightforward arithmetic of jihad  —  It's time we open our eyes and confront reality.  Ever since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the media has sought to reassure us that only a tiny minority of Muslims actually support …

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.