Gonzales aide to invoke Fifth Amendment  —  WASHINGTON - Monica Goodling, a Justice Department official involved in the firings of federal prosecutors, will refuse to answer questions at upcoming Senate hearings, citing Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, her lawyer said Monday.

Beyond the pale: anti-gay, racist emails from Army recruiter … Is this the General Peter Pace policy at work?  —  Corey Andrew had his profile and resume posted at Careerbuilder.com, and it caught the eye of Army recruiter Marcia Ramode, who contacted him.

Americans back Edwardses' choice  —  WASHINGTON — Americans by 2-1 support the decision of former North Carolina senator John Edwards to stay in the Democratic presidential race even though his wife, Elizabeth, has been diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer.

Waxman Warns RNC, Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign: Don't Delete Your Emails  —  Multiple congressional investigations have uncovered evidence that White House appointees regularly communicate using email accounts provided by the Republican Party.  As CREW has argued, such activity violates …

Northern Ireland Rivals Reach Deal  —  The leaders of Northern Ireland's dominant rival groups, Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams and the Protestant leader, the Rev. Ian Paisley, met today for what was billed as their first face-to-face talks, agreeing to form a joint administration for the province on May 8.

Iran Feels Pinch As Major Banks Curtail Business  —  More than 40 major international banks and financial institutions have either cut off or cut back business with the Iranian government or private sector as a result of a quiet campaign launched by the Treasury and State departments last September …

Sticky wicket of creeping sharia  —  The other day Pakistan's Gen. Musharraf took time off from his hectic schedule of trying to survive assassination attempts to pay tribute to someone who, alas, had been less successful at dodging killers: A week ago, during the cricket World Cup, Bob Woolmer …

McCain on the House Iraq Supplemental  —  John McCain has harsh words for the House Democratic Leadership on the Iraq Supplemental Appropriations Bill that they just passed.  This is what he said at a town hall meeting in Plymouth, NH:  —  McCain has been taking some heat for skipping some votes recently.

Solid Majority Favors Congressional Troop Deadline  —  36% Think Surge Will Work  —  Summary of Findings  —  A solid majority of Americans say they want their congressional representative to support a bill calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by August 2008.

Online, Churls Gone Vile  —  One of the unique qualities of Internet discourse is its freewheeling, no-holds-barred nature, where passionate arguments are often accompanied by some choice expletives and a virtual finger in the eye.  —  But what happens when the talk turns ugly, racist and violent?

N.Y. Mayor Is Eyeing '08, Observers Say  —  New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a self-made billionaire, has told friends more than once that his definition of good financial planning is making sure the check to the undertaker bounces when it's finally time to go.

Aged, Frail and Denied Care by Their Insurers  —  CONRAD, Mont. — Mary Rose Derks was a 65-year-old widow in 1990, when she began preparing for the day she could no longer care for herself.  Every month, out of her grocery fund, she scrimped together about $100 for an insurance policy …

Poor Behavior Is Linked to Time in Day Care  —  A much-anticipated report from the largest and longest-running study of American child care has found that keeping a preschooler in a day care center for a year or more increased the likelihood that the child would become disruptive in class …

Referendum Day  —  Al-Jazeera is reporting "very low" turnout in the referendum voting so far, especially in Cairo where voting would usually be expected to be high (Kefaya is also reporting weak turnout across the country - though everyone expects a blatantly forged result to be announced).