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 …

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.

Video: American Soldier Held Hostage in Iraq Alive  —  A video posted on a Shiite Islamist website has emerged of an American soldier being held hostage, Spc. Ahmed K. Altaie.  The Jawa Report has obtained a copy of the video.  It is posted below.  —  Right after Altaie was captured …

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:

Press Briefing by Tony Snow  —  White House Conference Center Briefing Room  —  MR. SNOW: Let me begin with a statement by the President:  —  "I am pleased with the agreements reached today at the six-party talks in Beijing.  These talks represent the best opportunity to use diplomacy to address North Korea's nuclear programs.

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.

Effective interrogation without torture 101 from retired Army Colonel Stuart Herrington.  —  The Hugh Hewitt Show  —  HH: This hour, don't go anywhere.  I'm joined by Colonel Stuart Herrington, retired from the United States Army.  He's a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Libby and Cheney Won't Testify, Says the Defense  —  Lawyers defending I. Lewis Libby Jr. against perjury charges surprised the courtroom on Tuesday by saying that they would rest their case this week and do so without putting on the stand either Mr. Libby or Vice President Dick Cheney.

UK is accused of failing children  —  The UK has been accused of failing its children, as it comes bottom of a league table for child well-being across 21 industrialised countries.  —  Unicef looked at 40 indicators from the years 2000-2003 including poverty, peer and family relationships, and health.

HOUSE HEARING ON 'WARMING OF THE PLANET' CANCELED AFTER SNOW/ICE STORM HEARING NOTICE  —  The Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality hearing scheduled for Wednesday, February 14, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building has been postponed due to inclement weather.

Poll shows Clinton, Giuliani pull ahead ias campaigns kick off  —  WASHINGTON — New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani have widened leads over their rivals in recent weeks as they began to openly campaign for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations …

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" …

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 …

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 …

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.