Officials linked to al-Sadr deny he fled  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr said Wednesday that the radical Shiite cleric was still in Iraq, denying a report that he fled to Iran ahead of a security crackdown targeting his militia.  —  An Iraqi government official said al-Sadr …

Shooter, Say It Ain't So!  —  When Ted Wells came back from lunch today and announced that he had released Dick Cheney as a witness I was damn near brokenhearted.  After all that, and Shooter lets me down.  Did he not want to testify on Libby's behalf, did Team Libby decide he could do more harm than good …

Neoconservatives hate liberty as much as they love war  —  Frank Gaffney, one of the country's most influential and well-connected neoconservatives, has a column in today's Washington Times in which he argues that the debate taking place in Congress over the war in Iraq constitutes treason.

House Democrats' New Strategy: Force Slow End to War  —  Led by Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., and supported by several well-funded anti-war groups, the coalition's goal is to limit or sharply reduce the number of U.S. troops available for the Iraq conflict, rather than to openly cut off funding for the war itself.

Explosion in Iran Kills Busload of Al Quds Members!!  —  An explosion today killed a reported 18 Al Quds members traveling in a bus in southeastern Iran.  —  Fars News is carrying this picture of one of those arrested after the blast earlier today  —  A car bomb exploded killing 18 Al Quds members today in Zahedan, Iran:

People who claim to love Jesus write me  —  Update: To correct misinformation in the comments, I was not "fired".  I offered my resignation and it was accepted.  —  Because I had the nerve to be critical of the Catholic church's stance on birth control and abortion—nevermind …

Army Giving More Waivers in Recruiting  —  The number of waivers granted to Army recruits with criminal backgrounds has grown about 65 percent in the last three years, increasing to 8,129 in 2006 from 4,918 in 2003, Department of Defense records show.  —  During that time …

Newspaper: Questions in death of ground zero worker  —  NEW YORK Questions are being raised about the story of a New York City police officer whose death sparked wide interest in the plight of ailing September Eleventh first responders.  —  The New York Times says Officer Cesar Borja …

Rep. Ellison calls the cops to snuff Tancredo's cigar  —  Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) believes it is his right as a Muslim to be sworn into Congress with the Quran.  But apparently, the freshman lawmaker doesn't believe it's Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-Colo.) right to smoke a cigar in his congressional office.

In 1993 Memo, Giuliani Staff Gave Harsh Assessment of Flaws  —  Sometimes in politics, the most damaging accusations come from your own staff.  —  Rudolph W. Giuliani learned that lesson again yesterday when a "vulnerability study," including warnings about his "weirdness factor" …

On Fla. Menus, a Favorite Fish Experiences Identity Theft  —  MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — What the undercover agents ordered, over and over, was the grouper.  —  What wound up on their plates could stifle anyone's appetite.  —  The alleged grouper at 17 of 24 area restaurants sampled …

The Ever-'Present' Obama  —  Barack has a along track record of not taking a stand.  —  Finally and officially, Barack Obama is running for president.  His symbolic announcement, in the Land of Lincoln, called for a new era in politics.  Obama downplayed his thin federal experience …

Ready to aim  —  ARMED AMERICA: THE STORY OF HOW AND WHY GUNS BECAME AS AMERICAN AS APPLE PIE  —  By Clayton E. Cramer, Nelson Current, $26.99, 320 pages  —  In 1996, Michael Bellesiles published a paper in the Journal of American History.  The thesis: Early Americans rarely owned firearms …

Colliding Wars: Drugs and Terror (and the Utter Folly of US Policy)  —  When I saw this week's Time cover, my response was, no joke-I knew that years ago.  —  Beyond that, however, I found a remarkable story in the magazine's pages that is the kind of stuff that drives me crazy …