G.O.P. Senators Block Debate on Iraq Policy  —  Republicans on Monday blocked Senate debate on a bipartisan resolution opposing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq, leaving in doubt whether the Senate would render a judgment on what lawmakers of both parties described as the paramount issue of the day.

The Other Democrats Weigh In  —  The good news for the nation's Democrats is that neither of the supposed front-runners for the party's 2008 presidential nomination, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, stole the show when all 10 of the likely contenders spoke last weekend to the Democratic National Committee.

Space shuttle astronaut arrested at OIA on attempted kidnapping, battery charges  —  A NASA astronaut is charged with attacking her rival for another astronaut's attention early Monday at Orlando International Airport, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.  —  Lisa Marie Nowak drove from Texas …

Giuliani nearing full-fledged candidacy  —  WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor whose popularity soared after his response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, moved closer to a full-fledged campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday.

Pelosi, Dingell reach deal  —  Ending a three-week long turf war, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) have reached an agreement on the parameters of the select committee on global warming.  —  In a new letter to Pelosi …

U.S. military: Iraqi lawmaker is U.S. Embassy bomber … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — A man sentenced to death in Kuwait for the 1983 bombings of the U.S. and French embassies now sits in Iraq's parliament as a member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ruling coalition, according to U.S. military intelligence.

EDWARD'S WAR VOTE: "THE CLINTONS MADE ME DO IT"  —  Ok maybe it's not quite that drastic but its close.  While being interviewed on Meet the Press, John Edwards was asked why he voted for the war and why he was so wrong: … So John Edwards, having seen the intel offered by the Bush administration …

Iranian Diplomat Abducted In Baghdad  —  Iran blames the United States for the abduction of a diplomat by men in the uniform of the Iraqi Army, according to state news agency IRNA.  ABC reports that Iraqi police captured two men involved in the incident, who got transferred immediately to the custody of the Iraqi Army:

Bush Plan Reins In Domestic Spending  —  Proposal Aims to Balance Budget And Fund Wars  —  President Bush took aim yesterday at domestic spending as part of a plan to balance the budget in five years without raising taxes while increasing funding for the Iraq war and permanently expanding the military.

Newsweek's Evan Thomas: 'Our Job Is To Bash the President'  —  On Friday night's edition of Inside Washington airing locally on Washington PBS station WETA, the first topic was whether the media's been unfair to President Bush, given his abysmal approval ratings.

Global Warming's Simple Remedy  —  "Worse than we thought."  The headline in the British Guardian newspaper on Saturday was almost gloating about the bad news.  The tone of the article that followed was no different: In Paris, a U.N.-sponsored panel, consisting of hundreds of scientists …

A.B.A. Panel Would Weaken Code Governing Judges' Conduct  —  A commission of the American Bar Association has recommended that the group weaken its code of judicial conduct by changing, from a mandatory rule to nonbinding advice, an instruction to judges to "avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety."

Appointment in Mesopotamia  —  IRAQ'S PROBLEMS EXISTED LONG BEFORE 2003.  —  Replying to Fareed Zakaria's observation in Newsweek, about Iraq and the Iraqis—that "We did not give them a republic.  We gave them a civil war."  —Charles Krauthammer, in our common sister paper the Washington Post, expressed a fine contempt:

Snickers Superbowl Web site promotes violence against gays and lesbians.  Bears & Colts players react in disgust, on camera, to gays.  —  UPDATE: Snickers pulled the Web site containing the homophobic ads and commentary.  Still no word from Snickers about the entire affair.

The War To Save The Surge  —  When political opponents tell you that to prove your seriousness you need to pursue a strategy they know is doomed to failure, shouldn't you be skeptical of their advice?  —  As the Senate considers a resolution to put itself on record opposing President Bush's escalation …