Hussein's Prewar Ties To Al-Qaeda Discounted  —  Pentagon Report Says Contacts Were Limited  —  Captured Iraqi documents and intelligence interrogations of Saddam Hussein and two former aides "all confirmed" that Hussein's regime was not directly cooperating with al-Qaeda before the U.S. invasion of Iraq …

Bill O'Reilly Loses His Damn Mind  —  In the entire, dark, black history of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, this is probably the craziest clip ever.  A young girl was tragically killed by a drunk driver.  But this was not enough for O'Reilly.  Instead, because the criminal was an illegal alien …

Pelosi was nuts to visit with Assad  —  In visiting Syria this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi no doubt meant well.  She wants dialogue.  As a woman, mother, and now the third-highest-ranking elected official in American politics, she has achieved a great deal in life by talking with people.

An Administration's Epic Collapse  —  The first three months of the new Democratic Congress have been neither terrible nor transcendent.  A Pew poll had it about right: a substantial majority of the public remains happy the Democrats won in 2006, but neither Nancy Pelosi nor Harry Reid …

Exclusive: Shake Up at the U.S. Attorney's Office  —  MINNEAPOLIS — It's a major shakeup at the offices of new U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose.  —  Four of her top staff voluntarily demoted themselves Thursday, fed up with Paulose, who, after just months on the job, has earned a reputation …

And Iraq's big oil contracts go to ...  Companies from China, India and other Asian nations are seen getting the first contracts.  But don't write off Big Oil just yet.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Despite claims by some critics that the Bush administration invaded Iraq to take control of its oil …

12,000 more Guard troops may be going to Iraq  —  Deployment order planned to lessen 'surge's' strain on stretched-thin Army  —  WASHINGTON - Coming on the heels of a controversial "surge" of 21,000 U.S. troops that has stretched the Army thin, the Defense Department is preparing to send …

Dutch Soldiers Stress Restraint in Afghanistan  —  QALA-E-SURKH, Afghanistan — The Dutch infantrymen stood on a ridge near the Baluchi Valley, an area in south-central Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban and tribes opposed to the central government.  —  Whenever they push farther …

'We Gathered Intelligence'  —  The captain in charge of the 15 marines detained in Iran has said they were gathering intelligence on the Iranians.  —  Sky News went on patrol with Captain Chris Air and his team in Iraqi waters close to the area where they were arrested - just five days before the crisis began.

Harry Reid Gets Clobbered By Veterans For Not Supporting Troops (Video)  —  Harry Reid Gets Lambasted By Veterans...  In a question and answer session at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Reno, Nev., on Thursday, April 5, 2007, Harry Reid got clobbered by a room full of veterans for not supporting the troops.

Baucus calls health system near collapse  —  The U.S. health care system is on the "verge of collapse," Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Wednesday.  —  Trying to prevent that is a focus of his chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee, he said.  "That is not pretentious or grandiose," he added.