Gore's Oscar Fuels Call for Late Run  —  Former Vice President Al Gore's triumph at the Oscars is already stoking activists' pleas for him to make a dramatic late entry into the fractious presidential race, and some key strategists insist he could announce as late as September or October and still win the nomination.

Meanwhile, Back at the Courthouse...  I'm at the courthouse, and as Christy said in her update, one of the jurors was exposed to media coverage of the trial.  Nobody really expected anything early this morning, so everyone is scrambling into the media room to try and figure out what's going on.

The Choice on Iraq  —  "I appeal to my colleagues in Congress to step back and think carefully about what to do next."  —  Two months into the 110th Congress, Washington has never been more bitterly divided over our mission in Iraq.  The Senate and House of Representatives are bracing …

Cheney Warns Pakistan to Act on Terror  —  Vice President Dick Cheney made an unannounced trip to Pakistan on Monday to deliver what officials in Washington described as an unusually tough message to Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, warning him that the newly Democratic Congress could cut aid …

War critic speaks from heart of Bush country  —  KEARNEY, Neb. — Jeff Strong, a recently retired National Guardsman and "rock-ribbed Republican," churned with conflicting emotions as he sat in an auditorium at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, waiting for Sen. Chuck Hagel.

Growing A Third Party  —  Somewhere in America, there are 35,000 people looking at the preliminaries to the 2008 presidential race from a different perspective than that of millions of their fellow citizens.  —  They are the people who have signed up so far to participate in Unity08 …

Wells says boy was kidnapped for ransom  —  SAMOSET - Camouflaged sheriff's office SWAT Team members swarmed the home of the alleged kidnapper of 13-year-old Clay Moore just before daybreak this morning.  —  The suspect, however, was still on the loose.  —  Manatee County Sheriff's Office …

More Americans Trust Congress Over Bush on Iraq, Poll Finds  —  Congressional Democrats still hold a sizeable advantage over President Bush in who the public trusts to handle the Iraq war, though the gap has narrowed somewhat since Bush's State of the Union speech, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Video: Dan Rather warns Hillary not to come off as a "chickenhawk"  —  Portrait of a man using a term he's clearly heard used before and just as clearly never quite grasped the definition of.  But watch how quick Matthews is to ask him to clarify.  You'd better believe he knows what it means.

Another Friday at Walter Reed  —  "SUPPORT THE TROOPS."  For some people, it's second nature.  For others, it's just an empty political slogan.  —  On Friday, Tantor and I went to Walter Reed to visit some friends.  But first, we stopped in front of the main gate to visit the seven remaining members …

'Star wars' looks good to Europe now  —  PRAGUE, Czech Republic — U.S. plans to extend its ''star wars'' missile-defense program to Europe, which once dismissed the technology as unproven and unneeded, are gaining acceptance among governments here.  —  Despite Russia's mounting opposition …

Name changes define Clinton's various career stages  —  WASHINGTON — What's in a name?  Plenty, if you're running for president.  —  Just ask George W. Bush, who had to distinguish himself from his father of nearly the same name, and Senator Barack Hussein Obama, whose staff worries about confusion with similar-sounding US enemies.

Giuliani Has Uniquely Broad Based Political Appeal  —  Clinton's popularity concentrated with Democrats  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Recent USA Today/Gallup presidential heats measures indicate the 2008 election is not going to be easy for either party.  Various pairings of the leading Republican …