BBC: Blair to announce troop pullout from Iraq  —  At least 1,500 to return home within the next several weeks, report says  —  LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair will announce Wednesday a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, with 1,500 to return home in several weeks, the BBC reported.

Initial Thoughts on Boumediene  —  The U.S. Court of Appeals today by a 2-1 vote dismissed the pending habeas corpus petitons of hundreds of Guantanamo detainees.  In an opinion by Judge Randolph, joined by Judge Sentelle, the court held (i) that the Military Commissions Act stripped …

National Poll: Presidential Campaign 2008  —  This WNBC/Marist Poll reports:  —  · Hillary Clinton still outpaces her Democratic rivals nationwide as the Democrats' choice for their party's presidential nomination: Hillary Clinton outdistances her closest contender …

Obama, McCaskill Plan Military Hospitals Bill  —  Seizing on an investigative report by The Washington Post's Dana Priest and Anne Hull, Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) will introduce legislation next week to require more frequent inspections of hospitals providing treatment to active-duty military personnel.

Campos: The right's Ward Churchill  —  Murder is the premeditated unlawful killing of a human being.  Glenn Reynolds, the well-known University of Tennessee law professor who authors one of the Internet's most popular blogs, recently advocated the murder of Iranian scientists and clerics.

NRSC "Inner Circle Member" Indicted On Terror Charges  —  According to the Associated Press, Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, a self-proclaimed life member of the National Republican Senatorial Committee's "Inner Circle Leadership Committee" has been indicted on charges of financing a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.

Police say political dispute with stranger got physical  —  Man's Republican beliefs irritate suspect  —  A Fredericksburg man was arrested Saturday on charges he assaulted three strangers at their home during a dispute over politics, police said.  —  According to a Fredericksburg police report …

Tormented first by hiccups, now by media … ST. PETERSBURG - The notes under the door.  The incessant phone calls.  The impassioned pleas, all begging for a piece of the story.  —  It wasn't reporters in search of secret intelligence involving the war in Iraq.

LET ALIENS VOTE: ACTIVISTS  —  Immigrant-rights activists yesterday renewed their push to allow legal noncitizens to vote in the Big Apple.  —  A bill that would grant permanent residents and other legal immigrants the right to vote in municipal elections has been stalled in the City Council since last year.

"Tell the American people we need the U.S. Army here:" An Interview with the Jundi  —  An Interview with the Jundi  —  (L to R) Iraqi Army soldiers Jabbar, Mohaned F, Mohaned N and Mohammed sit in their room at Forward Operating Base Castle in NE Fallujah.

Female Pakistani minister shot dead for 'breaking Islamic dress code'  —  Devika Bhat, and Zahid Hussain in Islamabad  —  A Pakistani minister and woman's activist has been shot dead by an Islamic extremist for refusing to wear the veil.  —  Zilla Huma Usman, the minister for social welfare …

Court limits punitive damages  —  The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that it is unconstitutional for a jury to award punitive damages out of a desire to punish a company for harming individuals other than those directly involved in the lawsuit — that is, "strangers to the litigation."

Scores choke in poison gas attack … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — A cloud of deadly toxic gas engulfed an Iraqi town Tuesday, killing six people and leaving dozens of others choking on fumes after a tanker carrying chlorine exploded outside a restaurant.  —  An Iraqi Interior Ministry official …

Maybe We Deserve to Be Ripped Off By Bush's Billionaires  —  While America obsessed about Brittany's shaved head, Bush offered a budget that offers $32.7 billion in tax cuts to the Wal-Mart family alone, while cutting $28 billion from Medicaid.  —  What was she thinking?  How about nothing?

Teen 'sport killings' of homeless on the rise … MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (CNN) — All Nathan Moore says he wanted to do was smoke pot and get drunk with his friends.  —  Killing Rex Baum was never part of the plan that day in 2004.  —  "It all started off as a game," Moore said.

Clinton stresses credentials  —  N.Y. senator tells Columbia crowd she has experience needed to be president  —  Hillary Clinton told a crowd of more than 3,000 at Allen University on Monday she's "proud to be a woman," but she's not basing a run for president on her gender.

Media cited for showing girls as sex objects  —  Advertising and media images that encourage girls to focus on looks and sexuality are harmful to their emotional and physical health, a new report by the American Psychological Association says.  —  The report, released Monday, analyzed some 300 studies over the past 18 months.