9/11 Mastermind Confesses in Guantanamo  —  WASHINGTON — Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, confessed to that attack and a string of others during a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a transcript released Wednesday by the Pentagon.

Clinton Sees Some Troops Staying in Iraq if She Is Elected  —  Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton foresees a "remaining military as well as political mission" in Iraq, and says that if elected president, she would keep a reduced but significant military force there to fight Al Qaeda …

Justice Dept. distances White House from firings of U.S. attorneys  —  WASHINGTON - The Justice Department said Wednesday that revisions in the USA Patriot Act that gave the administration unprecedented powers to replace ousted U.S. attorneys were designed by a mid-level department lawyer without …

Zogby Poll: Voters Believe Media Bias is Very Real  —  Institute for Politics, Democracy, and the Internet/Zogby Poll shows American voters are skeptical political motivation may be behind blogs run by mainstream news organizations  —  The vast majority of American voters believe media bias …

Senator Inevitable  —  Considering the formidable advantages Hillary Clinton has assembled for 2008, why should anyone feel sorry for her?  Because the Senator is in a trap, and many of her assets have swiftly turned into liabilities.  This predicament is largely of her own making but also of changed circumstances she did not foresee.

General Pace and Gay Soldiers  —  There's a good reason that military officers avoid commenting on politics, society and public policy.  The results are usually bad.  —  Consider the offensive comments that Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made this week about gay people.

Emanuel tells freshmen to avoid Stephen Colbert  —  Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), the Democratic Caucus chairman, has told new Democratic members of Congress to steer clear of Stephen Colbert, or at least his satirical Comedy Central program, "The Colbert Report."

Fox Attacks: Black America  —  When I found out that the Congressional Black Caucus Institute was considering partnering with Fox News to host presidential debates, I was shocked.  I was already disgusted by Fox's sustained attacks and smears on Barack Obama, and I knew that it was part of a larger problem.

House overturns Bush order on papers secrecy  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brushing aside a veto threat, the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to overturn a 2001 order by President George W. Bush that lets former presidents keep their papers secret indefinitely.

The real target of the 6 imams' 'discrimination' suit  —  The "flying imams' " federal lawsuit, filed this week in Minneapolis, has made headlines around the country.  The imams are demanding unspecified damages from US Airways and the Metropolitan Airports Commission, both with deep pockets.

The House Emergency Supplemental: Micro-managing The War  —  The Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives has decided to micro-manage the war effort by loading the funding bill required to authorize continued operations in Iraq with conditions and provisions designed to force …

Citizen Journalism Wants You!  —  Welcome to Assignment Zero.  It's pro-am journalism in the open style made possible by the web.  This is a collaboration among NewAssignment.Net, Wired and those who choose to participate.  —  I hope you will.  Because we're trying to figure something out here.

Coming to Order  —  How the Supreme Court really works.  —  To read certain accounts of the Supreme Court, you would think that it is a place where politicians in robes push the laws and policies they personally prefer, thwart the ones they dislike and look around for some legal reasoning to justify what they have done.

Out of Iraq Caucus starts to split  —  Once-ignored members of the Out of Iraq Caucus are now some of the most sought-after votes in the House as Democratic leaders search for the support they need to pass a carefully crafted Iraq supplemental budget.  —  And the caucus membership has started …

Taste for Guinness wanes in changing Ireland  —  How about a glass of wine to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day in Dublin?  —  That might not sit well on the stomach of many residents of Ireland's capital this Saturday as they mark the year's biggest party with copious quantities of Guinness …