Senate Democrats Split on Measure Opposing Bush  —  Compromise Called Weak; Report Raises Estimate of Troops Needed for 'Surge'  —  Senate Democratic leaders who decided to back a Republican resolution against President Bush's Iraq war plan in hopes of winning broad bipartisan support ran …

Global warming man-made, will continue  —  PARIS - Scientists from 113 countries issued a landmark report Friday saying they have little doubt global warming is caused by man, and predicting that hotter temperatures and rises in sea level will "continue for centuries" no matter how much humans control their pollution.

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.

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 …

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 …

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" …

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.

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 …

Gore ex-campaign chief wishes on her star  —  'Wait till Oscar night,' Donna Brazile says of a possible 2008 run.  —  By Daryl Nerl Of The Morning Call  —  Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are the hot early front-runners, while 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry has already bowed out.