Senate Rejects Renewed Effort to Debate Iraq  —  The Senate on Saturday narrowly rejected an effort to force debate on a resolution opposing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq, but Republican defections emboldened Democrats to promise new attempts to influence the administration's war policy.

Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility  —  Behind the door of Army Spec.  Jeremy Duncan's room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold.  When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole.

Clinton urges start of Iraq pullout in 90 days  —  U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the early front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, has called for a 90-day deadline to start pulling American troops from Iraq.  —  Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton …

Obama's South Carolina Debut  —  FEELING THE LOVE IN COLUMBIA.  —  Columbia, S.C.—"Are you here for the wedding or Obama?" the security guard asked me Friday night at the Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, S.C. A traditional Indian wedding was being performed down the hall from the Obama rally.

Asteroid threat demands response, experts warn  —  Kamchatkans and Venezuelans beware.  A 20-million-tonne asteroid could be heading your way.  Californians have even more reason to worry - the asteroid is more likely to hit the Pacific Ocean, triggering a tsunami that could devastate the west coast of North America.

Women will be paid to donate eggs for science  —  Women will be paid to donate their eggs for scientific research in a landmark decision that will prompt a fierce backlash from leading figures in the medical world.  —  The Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA) …

Planning Seen in Iraqi Attacks on U.S. Copters  —  Documents captured from Iraqi insurgents indicate that some of the recent fatal attacks against American helicopters are a result of a carefully planned strategy to focus on downing coalition aircraft, one that American officials say has been carried …

Sunday Talking Head Thread  —  (This lovely photo of a male cardinal was found with this Southern Living article about attracting birds to your yard.  Useful information, and gorgeous shot.  I have a cardinal pair that eats at the feeder by my kichen window daily.)  —  Here's the Sunday Talking Head line-up.

Don Young: let's hang Abraham Lincoln  —  For months now, but especially in the "surge" debates this week, Republicans have been peddling a bogus Abraham Lincoln quote about how Congressmen who oppose a war ought to be hanged.  —  One one level, it's just disgusting for them to be fathering …

GOP candidate Romney defends religion in Villages  —  THE VILLAGES — Before former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney could tout his conservative credentials Friday in this tri-county hotbed of Republicanism, he first had to defend his religious background as he begins the long road toward the 2008 GOP presidential nomination.

With One Word, Children's Book Sets Off Uproar  —  The word "scrotum" does not often appear in polite conversation.  Or children's literature, for that matter.  —  Yet there it is on the first page of "The Higher Power of Lucky," by Susan Patron, this year's winner of the Newbery Medal …

Apple CEO Jobs attacks teacher unions  —  AUSTIN — Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs lambasted teacher unions today, claiming no amount of technology in the classroom would improve public schools until principals could fire bad teachers.  —  Jobs compared schools to businesses with principals serving as CEOs.

CONGRESSMAN JOHNSON PLEADS FOR THE TROOPS  —  The last Republican to speak against the Democrats' anti-surge, pro-defeat resolution yesterday was Sam Johnson of Texas.  Johnson was a pilot who flew something like 90 combat missions in Korea and Vietnam.  He was shot down over North Vietnam …

Sure, Barack, you voted 'no' to war in Iraq.  That was the easy part  —  If politics were a fairy tale, Barack Obama would surely be the next president of the United States.  With his melting pot roots (father Kenyan, mother Kansan, born in Hawaii) and his molten hot rhetoric …