A Rough Ride on Air Force Two  —  Electrial problems.  Unexpected stops.  And a suicide bomber's strike.  Inside Cheney's troubled Asia trip.  —  It was supposed to be a surprise trip.  And it was, in more ways than Vice President Dick Cheney could have imagined.  —  Story continues below ↓ advertisement

Document shows Romney's strategies  —  Plan addresses faith, rivals, shift on issues  —  Here are some views of Mitt Romney causing concern inside his campaign: His hair looks too perfect, he's not a tough war time leader, and he has earned a reputation as "Slick Dancing Mitt" or "Flip-Flop Mitt."

Today's Must Read  —  Two weeks ago, the Bush administration organized an intelligence briefing for journalists in Iraq to demonstrate that Iran was providing weapons to Iraqi insurgents.  According to the anonymous briefers, the weapons — particularly explosively formed penetrators or E.F.P.s …

A Firsthand Report on the Wounds of War  —  Bob Woodruff Indicts Military For Its Response to Veterans  —  At the moment of impact, when the roadside bomb sent shrapnel and rocks hurtling into his face, Bob Woodruff says, "I saw my body floating below me, kind of a whiteness."

Wall Street Plummets After Chinese Stocks Take a Big Hit  —  Stocks retreated sharply Tuesday after a sell-off in China rattled markets worldwide and data on durable goods orders came in well below expectations.  —  After reaching record highs on Monday, China's stock markets reversed course drastically …

Need to Know Need to Know  —  Editor's Inbox  —  U.S. Agrees to Meeting with Iran and Syria  —  The Bush administration has agreed to sit around a negotiating table with official representatives of Iran and Syria next month — as part of a planned regional conference in Baghdad to discuss ways to stabilize Iraq.

Clintons' Charity Not Listed On Senate Disclosure Forms  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former president Bill Clinton have operated a family charity since 2001, but she failed to list it on annual Senate financial disclosure reports on five occasions.  —  The Ethics in Government Act …

Women's Health Office Funds Cut  —  When is $4 million really $2.8 million?  —  One answer is "When you're a woman," as the Labor Department has repeatedly found that women earn about 75 cents for every dollar that men earn for the same work.  —  But this week's answer is …

An Early Environmentalist, Embracing New 'Heresies'  —  Stewart Brand has become a heretic to environmentalism, a movement he helped found, but he doesn't plan to be isolated for long.  He expects that environmentalists will soon share his affection for nuclear power.

New Jersey Moves to Join Early Presidential Primaries  —  With a June primary that had become all but irrelevant, New Jersey would be romanced by presidential aspirants for its money — but rarely for its voters.  —  So under a measure approved unanimously on Monday by an Assembly committee …

Gen. Pace: Military capability eroding  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Strained by the demands of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a significant risk that the U.S. military won't be able to quickly and fully respond to yet another crisis, according to a new report to Congress.

Carl Levin Calls for Attacks On Syria.  Admits Al-Qaeda In Iraq & Troops Need to Stay  —  Get ready for Carl Levin to get shot by Cindy Sheehan or some other angry lefty.  I'm not sure what happened to him, but he's making sense right now.  On Sunday's Meet The (De)Press(ed) …

Gen Y's ego trip takes a nasty turn  —  A new report suggests that an overdose of self-esteem in college students could mean a rough road ahead.  —  No wonder YouTube is so popular.  —  All the effort to boost children's self-esteem may have backfired and produced a generation of college students …

Pelosi Falls Short On Election Promises  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is discovering the cold truth about governing with a slim majority: It's much easier to promise behavioral change for Congress than to deliver it.  —  Pelosi vowed that five-day workweeks would be a hallmark of a harder-working Democratic majority.

Ruined poppy farmers join ranks with the Taleban  —  Tim Albone in Panjwayi and Claire Billet in Nad Ali  —  The tractor roared through the field, the plough tearing through the valuable poppy crop as the farmer looked on.  A helicopter searched for insurgents and armed police stood watch …

Jeb in 2008?  —  Don't be surprised if, come November of 2008, voters are choosing between Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush for president.  —  But how can that be?  Jeb's not running.  —  Well, he isn't running now, but the new, front-loaded primary system may, counterintuitively …