G.O.P. Candidates Criticize Slur by Conservative Author  —  Three of the leading Republican presidential candidates on Saturday denounced one of their party's best-known conservative commentators for using an antigay epithet when discussing a Democratic presidential contender at a gathering of conservatives here.

Expert on Russian Intelligence Shot Outside Home  —  ADELPHI, Md. - Police are investigating a shooting that wounded a prominent intelligence expert.  —  Fifty-three-year-old Paul Joyal was shot Thursday night outside his house in the 2300 block of Lackawanna Street in Adelphi.

Stargazers Watch Total Lunar Eclipse  —  LONDON (AP) - The moon darkened, reddened, and turned shades of gray and orange Saturday night during the first total lunar eclipse in nearly three years, thrilling stargazers and astronomers around the world.  —  The Earth's shadow took over six hours …

A New Mystery to Prosecutors: Their Lost Jobs  —  After Daniel G. Bogden got the call in December telling him that he was being dismissed as the United States attorney in Nevada, he pressed for an explanation.  —  Mr. Bogden, who was named the top federal prosecutor in Nevada in 2001 …

The Must-Do List  —  The Bush administration's assault on some of the founding principles of American democracy marches onward despite the Democratic victory in the 2006 elections.  The new Democratic majorities in Congress can block the sort of noxious measures that the Republican majority rubber-stamped.

Doubts Rise as States Hold Sex Offenders After Prison Terms  —  The decision by New York to confine sex offenders beyond their prison terms places the state at the forefront of a growing national movement that is popular with politicians and voters.  But such programs have almost never met …

The Million-Dollar Kid  —  Government figures put the total cost of raising a child at $279,000, but some increasingly common expenses can send the number soaring over $1 million.  Where you fall on the kid-spending spectrum.  —  The government says families in the top-third income bracket …

Iraq terror group posts tape of killings  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - An al-Qaida-affiliated group said Saturday it killed 18 kidnapped government security forces in retaliation for the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by members of the Shiite-dominated police, posting an online video of the officers …

Afghanistan: US forces attack suspected al Qaeda hideout  —  Christopher Isham and Gretchen Peters Report:  —  For the past two days, U.S. and NATO forces have been conducting a major attack against a compound in a remote area of Eastern Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden or another senior al Qaeda leader …