Iran nabs British sailors in Iraq waters  —  LONDON - Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors who had boarded a ship suspected of smuggling cars in the Persian Gulf off the Iraqi coast on Friday, officials said.  —  The British government demanded "the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment."

E-Mails Show Machinations to Replace Prosecutor  —  Administration Worked for Months to Make Rove Aide U.S. Attorney in Arkansas  —  Two months before Bud Cummins was fired as U.S. attorney in Little Rock, a protege of presidential adviser Karl Rove was maneuvering with the Justice Department to take his place.

Retreat and Butter  —  TODAY THE House of Representatives is due to vote on a bill that would grant $25 million to spinach farmers in California.  The legislation would also appropriate $75 million for peanut storage in Georgia and $15 million to protect Louisiana rice fields from saltwater.

Michael Yon threatened with expulsion by a general  —  This is stupid.  Michael Yon and Bill Roggio are the best out there.  Telling Michael Yon to exit the theater is the WWII equivalent of telling Ernie Pyle to quit filing dispatches.  —  Everyone knows the PAO system has never …

L.A. Editor Quits Over A Hollywood Connection  —  The editorial page editor of the Los Angeles Times resigned yesterday after acknowledging a romantic relationship with a publicist for Brian Grazer, the Hollywood producer who had been tapped to serve as guest editor of the paper's opinion section on Sunday.

Ex-Interior No. 2 to plead guilty in Abramoff lobbying probe  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles will plead guilty to one count of obstruction of justice in the Jack Abramoff corruption investigation, The Associated Press has learned.

Charged With Leading Ethics Inquiry Into Firings, Cornyn 'Doesn't See What Hubbub Is All About'  —  Nearly two weeks ago, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) called for a Senate ethics inquiry into whether Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) improperly pressured U.S. Attorney David Iglesias …

GAO Faults U.S. Military Over Munitions in Iraq  —  Report Says Insurgents Took Unsecured Explosives  —  The U.S. military's faulty war plans and insufficient troops in Iraq left thousands and possibly millions of tons of conventional munitions unsecured or in the hands of insurgent groups …

Army Revises Upward the Number of Desertions  —  A total of 3,196 active-duty soldiers deserted the Army last year, or 853 more than previously reported, according to revised figures from the Army.  —  The new calculations by the Army, which had about 500,000 active-duty troops at the end of 2006 …

Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007  —  Political Landscape More Favorable To Democrats  —  Summary of Findings  —  View the complete report in pdf format  —  Increased public support for the social safety net, signs of growing public concern about income inequality …

Symposium: The First Nuclear Terrorist Power  —  An Islamist insurgency is afoot in Pakistan, posing a dire threat of overthrowing Musharraf.  —  And this may happen sooner rather than later.  —  If the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is created, it means Islamists get their hands on Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

How Specialist Town Lost His Benefits  —  Jon Town has spent the last few years fighting two battles, one against his body, the other against the US Army.  Both began in October 2004 in Ramadi, Iraq.  He was standing in the doorway of his battalion's headquarters when a 107-millimeter rocket struck two feet above his head.

H'WOOD'S 9/11 IDIOT BRIGADE  —  SOME celebrities don't know when to keep their traps shut - like Charlie Sheen and Rosie O'Donnell, who are throwing their weight behind the twisted theory that the United States government was behind the 9/11 terror attacks.  —  Page Six has learned that Sheen …

New to Pentagon, Gates Argued for Closing Guantánamo Prison  —  In his first weeks as defense secretary, Robert M. Gates repeatedly argued that the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, had become so tainted abroad that legal proceedings at Guantánamo would be viewed …

Politico Rushes to Crack the Story And Ends Up With Egg on Its Face  —  One hour and 4 minutes before John Edwards began a news conference yesterday on the recurrence of his wife's cancer, a two-month-old Web site blared what looked like a major exclusive: "Edwards to Suspend Campaign."

Edwards Says Wife's Cancer Has Returned  —  John Edwards, the North Carolina Democrat, said Thursday that his wife's cancer had returned in incurable form.  He proclaimed that he would continue his bid for the presidency, saying, "The campaign goes on strongly."