Sources: GOP lawmakers tried to influence federal investigation  —  WASHINGTON - Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico pressured the U.S. attorney in their state to speed up indictments in a federal corruption investigation that involved at least one former Democratic state senator …

Reading Hillary Rodham's hidden thesis  —  Clinton White House asked Wellesley College to close off access  —  Hillary Rodham, in a 1965 freshman photo when she was president of Wellesley College's Young Republicans, with the cover page of her senior thesis from 1969 on radical organizer Saul D. Alinsky.

Pressed by U.S., Pakistan Seizes a Taliban Chief  —  The former Taliban defense minister was arrested in Pakistan on Monday, the day of Vice President Dick Cheney's visit, two government officials said Thursday.  He is the most important Taliban member to be captured since the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

New Bush, Iraq Poll Numbers  —  In the months since the Congressional elections, President Bush has lost substantial support among members of his own party, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.  —  Mr. Bush's approval rating dropped 13 percentage points since last fall among Republicans …

McCain Ups the Ante Over Campaign Finance  —  John McCain raised the stakes Thursday in an emerging campaign finance showdown among the major presidential candidates.  —  In move similar to Democrat Barack Obama's last month, McCain, a Republican, pledged to accept public funding in a general election …

Oh George, what will we do when you're gone?  —  Our columnist on an easy target for America-bashers  —  Somewhere, deep down, tucked away underneath their loathing for George Bush, in a secret place where the lights of smart dinner-party conversation and clever debating-society repartee never shine …

Music Of the Spheres  —  You might not have noticed, but we broke another U.S. space record last month when astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria logged his 67th hour of spacewalking.  If you consider that the equivalent of the Guinness record for pogo-stick bouncing (23.11 miles in 12 hours and 27 minutes) …

A new twist to an intriguing family history … WASHINGTON // Many people know that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's father was from Kenya and his mother from Kansas.  —  But an intriguing sliver of his family history has received almost no attention until now …

Vilsack says early polls didn't show his strength  —  The former Iowa governor says it was his inability to raise money that forced him from the presidential race.  —  Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack criticized public opinion polls Friday and said his presidential campaign was running stronger …

Poll Shows Majority Back Health Care for All  —  A majority of Americans say the federal government should guarantee health insurance to every American, especially children, and are willing to pay higher taxes to do it, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

Shortages Threaten Guard's Capability  —  Nearly 90 percent of Army National Guard units in the United States are rated "not ready" — largely as a result of shortfalls in billions of dollars' worth of equipment — jeopardizing their capability to respond to crises at home and abroad …

Checkmate  —  The Democratic Party's honeymoon is over.  —  For Big Labor, this week's "card check" victory marked the ultimate payoff for past Democratic election support.  For House Democrats, it marked the end of the honeymoon.  —  Democrats won in November in part by playing …

Guardian article misrepresents the advisers' view  —  Today's Guardian article ("Military Chiefs Give US Six Months to Win Iraq War") misrepresents the Baghdad advisers.  So much so, it makes me doubt the reliability of the single, unidentified source responsible for much of the article's reporting.