Suspected Leader of Attacks on 9/11 Is Said to Confess  —  Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, long said to be the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, confessed to them at a military hearing held in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Saturday, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon yesterday.

Internal Affairs  —  Aborted DOJ Probe Probably Would Have Targeted Gonzales  —  Shortly before Attorney General Alberto Gonzales advised President Bush last year on whether to shut down a Justice Department inquiry regarding the administration's warrantless domestic eavesdropping program …

2008 and counting: Using praise as a weapon on the trail  —  Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) slipped in a compliment — of sorts — about a fellow 2008 hopeful during his appearances on the Iowa stump last weekend.  —  "I want to wait and hear what John Edwards has to say, he's kind of good-looking …

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 …

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."

Hyper Hacks  —  WHAT'S REALLY WRONG WITH THE BUSH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT.  —  Our system of government tries to limit the sway of partisan politics over the law by giving life tenure to federal judges.  But it doesn't do the same for the attorney general or the lawyers who work for him.

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.

McCain Fighting to Recapture Maverick Spirit of 2000 Bid  —  In the seven years since John McCain and his "Straight Talk Express" nearly derailed George W. Bush's White House ambitions, the blunt-spoken senator from Arizona has become the very picture of the highly managed presidential candidate he once scorned.

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."

What does it mean?  It depends on what side of issue you're on  —  The polarizing debate over the Iraq war played out with passion at the Colorado legislature Wednesday, but what it accomplished appears open to interpretation.  —  To critics, the Democratic- backed resolution critical …

TimesSelect Free for College Students — and Graduates?  —  The Loophole in an NYT Plan to Offer Access to the Enrolled  —  NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The New York Times decided earlier this week to give free TimesSelect access to college students and faculty with ".edu" in their e-mail addresses …

As a child, Obama crossed a cultural divide in Indonesia  —  JAKARTA, INDONESIA — As a boy in Indonesia, Barack Obama crisscrossed the religious divide.  At the local primary school, he prayed in thanks to a Catholic saint.  In the neighborhood mosque, he bowed to Allah.

Inside the Beltway  —  Allen angles  —  Inside the Beltway has learned that former Sen. George Allen, Virginia Republican, will host a private dinner in Old Town Alexandria in the coming days to discuss whether to seek the Senate seat now held by senior Republican Sen. John W. Warner …