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.

Bush Criticizes Handling of Prosecutors' Dismissals  —  President Bush said Wednesday that he had confidence in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, but that he was "frankly not happy about" the way Mr. Gonzales had handled the dismissal of federal prosecutors, a move that has led …

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 …

Dozens in GOP Turn Against Bush's Prized 'No Child' Act  —  More than 50 GOP members of the House and Senate — including the House's second-ranking Republican — will introduce legislation today that could severely undercut President Bush's signature domestic achievement, the No Child Left Behind Act …

Waning momentum  —  It is the subject of increasing backroom discussion among Democratic officials and strategists on Capitol Hill and the party's rank-and-file forces at the grass roots.  The "it" is Sen. Hillary Clinton's questionable electability and whether Democrats will end …

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."

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 …

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.

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.

Reports of the GOP's Death . . .  Months before the first votes are cast in the campaign of 2008, some in the media are conducting last rites for the Republicans.  The rush to bury the GOP is as hasty as it is premature.  —  The headline atop Page 1 of Tuesday's New York Times read, "GOP Voters Voice Anxieties on Party's Fate."

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.

Democrats' Measure for Iraq Pullout in 2008 Nears Senate Vote; White House Threatens Veto  —  In the face of determined opposition from the Bush administration, the Senate on Wednesday began an impassioned debate over an exit strategy from Iraq, headed toward a vote on a Democratic resolution aimed …