D.C.'s Ban On Handguns In Homes Is Thrown Out  —  Fenty Promises to Fight Appellate Court's Ruling  —  A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that the District's longtime ban on keeping handguns in homes is unconstitutional.  —  The 2 to 1 decision by an appellate panel outraged D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty …

Bush and Chávez Spar at Distance Over Latin Visit  —  SÃO PAULO, Brazil, March 9 — President Bush began the first full day of his weeklong trip to Latin America here on Friday promising job-creating aid but ended up competing for attention with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela …

F.B.I. Head Admits Mistakes in Use of Security Act  —  Bipartisan outrage erupted on Friday on Capitol Hill as Robert S. Mueller III, the F.B.I. director, conceded that the bureau had improperly used the USA Patriot Act to obtain information about people and businesses.

Democrats link pet causes to troop plan  —  WASHINGTON - Democrats seeking votes for their Iraq-withdrawal plan have stuffed the bill it's in with billions of dollars for farms, flu preparedness, New Orleans levees, home heating and other causes.  —  Some critics say the Democrats are simply …

Kopel: Coulter and Campos: Two sides of the same coin  —  One's right, one's left, but both often too shrill  —  They seem like opposites: she's tall, blond and right-wing; he's short, balding and left-wing.  Yet both are extremely intelligent weekly columnists with a gift for turning a clever phrase.

The Saturday Cartoons  —  All cartoons are posted with the artists' express permission to BobGeiger.com.  Please visit the following sites to see more work from these fine cartoonists:  —  Nick Anderson, Houston Chronicle  —  Tony Auth, The Philadelphia Inquirer  —  Justin Bilicki, City Pulse

Reports of Progress In Iraq Challenged  —  Critics Cite Administration's Past Rhetoric  —  President Bush on Tuesday cited "encouraging signs" of military and political progress in Iraq as his new strategy gets underway.  On Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice noted that "things are going reasonably well."

Privatized Walter Reed Workforce Gets Scrutiny  —  Army Facility Lost Dozens Of Maintenance Workers  —  The scandal over treatment of outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has focused attention on the Army's decision to privatize the facilities support workforce at the hospital …

Free Radical  —  Ayaan Hirsi Ali infuriates Muslims and discomfits liberals.  —  NEW YORK—Ayaan Hirsi Ali is untrammeled and unrepentant: "I am supposed to apologize for saying the prophet is a pervert and a tyrant," she declares.  "But that is apologizing for the truth."

After Mastering Web Traffic, Google Runs Bus Line  —  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The perks of working at Google are the envy of Silicon Valley.  Unlimited amounts of free chef-prepared food at all times of day.  A climbing wall, a volleyball court and two lap pools.

The Protocols of the Elder Carter  —  Jimmy Carter likes Jews.  Or at least that's what he wants you to believe.  —  Speaking to a packed auditorium of over a thousand at The George Washington University on Thursday, the poet, peanut farmer, and former president was hell bent on convincing the audience that he's pro-Semitic.

POLITICAL WINDS SHIFTING ON IRAQ?  —  The National Journal reports this morning that momentum on the Iraq issue may be shifting from the Democrats to the Republicans: … To see how frustrated the Democrats are feeling, check out this video of Congressman David Obey going ballistic on a group of antiwar liberals.