Why I Was Fired  —  WITH this week's release of more than 3,000 Justice Department e-mail messages about the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors, it seems clear that politics played a role in the ousters.  —  Of course, as one of the eight, I've felt this way for some time.

Democrats Split on Iraq Bill  —  Even Vote Counters Aren't Lined Up Behind Spending Measure  —  One of the Democrats' chief designated vote counters, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), is actively working against the Iraq war spending bill.  The leadership's senior chief deputy whip …

Iraq insurgents used children in car bombing: general  —  Insurgents in Iraq detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle with two children in the back seat after US soldiers let it through a Baghdad checkpoint over the weekend, a senior US military official said Tuesday.

Star in New Role, Gore Revisits Old Stage  —  The last time Al Gore appeared publicly inside the United States Capitol, he was certifying the Electoral College victory of George W. Bush.  He returns on Wednesday, a heartbreak loser turned Oscar boasting Nobel hopeful globe trotting multimillionaire pop culture eminence.

Aid to Palestinians Rose in '06 Despite an Embargo  —  Despite the international embargo on aid to the Palestinian Authority since Hamas came to power a year ago, significantly more aid was delivered to the Palestinians in 2006 than in 2005, according to official figures from the United Nations …

FBI Violations May Number 3,000, Official Says  —  The Justice Department's inspector general told a committee of angry House members yesterday that the FBI may have violated the law or government policies as many as 3,000 times since 2003 as agents secretly collected the telephone …

Schwarzenegger Calls Rush Limbaugh Irrelevant … During the one-on-one interview, the Republican-registered California governor was asked about criticism from Limbaugh and other conservatives that he has become a Democrat in disguise for supporting stem-cell research, mandatory curbs …

Clinton Says She's Not Worried About "1984" Ad Impact  —  In an interview with NY1 Tuesday, Senator Hillary Clinton addressed the controversial new video that's attacking her credibility and promoting the presidential campaign of chief rival, Barack Obama.  —  After talking about Senate …

Blanco won't seek second term  —  Staff reports  —  BATON ROUGE — Beset by complaints about the state's slow recovery from the 2005 hurricanes, languishing in the polls and facing pressure from her own party, Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced Tuesday that she will not seek reelection this year.

Hounding Fox News coverage  —  Journalists strive to report the news, not to be the news.  So Fox News should have been a bit embarrassed to headline a story that ended with the Nevada Democratic Party canceling Fox's sponsorship of a pre-caucus debate.  —  Then again, Fox is not a typical news organization.

Obama Rebuffs Soros  —  Billionaire's Comments on Aipac Are Scored  —  WASHINGTON — Leading Democrats, including Senator Obama of Illinois, are distancing themselves from an essay published this week by one of their party's leading financiers that called for the Democratic Party to …