Report: Rove was urged to oust U.S. attorney  —  N.M. GOP chief says he complained about prosecutor, was told 'he's gone'  —  WASHINGTON - The chairman of the New Mexico Republican Party was quoted Saturday as saying he urged presidential adviser Karl Rove and one of his assistants to fire the state's U.S. attorney.

TRANSCRIPT: FORMER SEN. FRED THOMPSON ON 'FOX NEWS SUNDAY'  —  The following is a partial transcript of the March 11, 2007, edition of "FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace":  —  "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" HOST CHRIS WALLACE: Well, chances are you've never heard of U.S. President Charles Ross …

The 'Surge' Is Succeeding  —  A front-page story in The Post last week suggested that the Bush administration has no backup plan in case the surge in Iraq doesn't work.  I wonder if The Post and other newspapers have a backup plan in case it does.  —  Leading journalists have been reporting …

FOX chooses article carefully to outsource condemnation of Nevada Dems' cancellation  —  The editors at FOXNews.com ignored 145 articles listed in a Google search that objectively told of the decision by Nevada Democrats to cancel a Democratic presidential candidate debate that would have been hosted by the right-wing network.

Twice as Many Americans Conservative as Liberal  —  Looking at the topline results [PDF here] of the latest AP-Ipsos poll, I came across this:  —  So 41% of the country self-identifies as "conservative," 34% as "moderate," and only 21% as "liberal."  Further, 14% consider themselves …

HILL: I'M THE JFK OF 2008  —  VOWS TO BEAT ODDS  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton invoked the campaign of the nation's lone Catholic president, John Kennedy, last night as she talked about her challenge in becoming the first female commander-in-chief.  —  "He was smart, he was dynamic, he was inspiring and he was Catholic.

Iran votes to impose petrol rationing  —  Iranians are bracing themselves for a fresh round of belt tightening after their government voted to impose petrol rationing coupled with sharp rises in the price of fuel.  —  The rationing system will limit Iranians to 22 gallons (100 litres) …

The Friends Of Ali Reza Asgari, Part II  —  The defection of Iranian intelligence officer Ali Reza Asgari did not represent a recent flip of a spy chief as first presumed.  The Times of London reports that Asgari worked as a mole for years, passing information to the West, until he could get his family out of Iran and escape:

Poll: Character trumps policy for voters  —  WASHINGTON - For all the policy blueprints churned out by presidential campaigns, there is this indisputable fact: People care less about issues than they do about a candidate's character.  —  A new Associated Press-Ipsos poll says 55 percent …

Suicide blast kills 32 Shiites in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomber rammed a truck carrying Shiite pilgrims returning from a religious commemoration Sunday, killing at least 32 people a day after Iraqi leaders warned sectarian violence could spread through the Middle East.

Plaintiffs Reflect on Gun Ruling  —  Residents Suing D.C. Explain Motivation  —  George Lyon says he wants a gun in his home because it's his constitutional right.  Tom Palmer says he used a gun to ward off a beating.  And Gillian St. Lawrence says her shotgun is useless because it has to be unloaded and have its trigger locked.

New John Edwards Sells Less Biography, More Liberal Issues  —  When he first ran for president, then-Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) was the fresh face in the Democratic Party, a perpetually buoyant campaigner who built his candidacy around his own biography and whose success in the primaries earned him a place on the 2004 Democratic ticket.

Episode at Guantanamo Leaves Family at a Loss  —  MEDINA, Saudi Arabia — Mishal al-Harbi's brain was deprived of oxygen for several minutes on the evening of Jan. 16, 2003, while he was in U.S. detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  As a result, he cannot stand, his speech is slurred …

POP GOES THE WEASEL....The collapse of the home mortgage market, especially among subprime lenders who (until recently) have been eagerly offering risky variable-rate mortgages to questionable applicants, prompts a plea from Reed Hundt: "Help me, readers, find that quote where Dr. Greenspan recommended …

Lotto Makes Sense, Even for Losers  —  AT least poker tables have some atmosphere, a jingle of highball glasses, a hint of 1990s menthol smoke in the armchairs, the sweet musk of nearby cash.  The same goes for playing the horses: there are characters, scandals, competition, not to mention real payoffs.

Iraq four years on  — Video: Julian Simmonds and Colin Freeman on the streets of Iraq  —  Mohammed Mumtaz al-Duleimi shows me the ring on his third finger, set with a heavy stone in a dark-red colour that is known in Iraq as gazelle's blood.  For the superstitious Shias of the south …