Missing E-Mail May Be Related to Prosecutors  —  The White House said Thursday that missing e-mail messages sent on Republican Party accounts may include some relating to the firing of eight United States attorneys.  —  The disclosure became a fresh political problem for the White House …

The prospect of all-female conception  —  Women might soon be able to produce sperm in a development that could allow lesbian couples to have their own biological daughters, according to a pioneering study published today.  —  Scientists are seeking ethical permission to produce synthetic sperm cells …

Democratic politicians lose a soapbox with Imus  —  His show gave many of them a way to reach a national audience of white males — a crucial voting bloc.  —  WASHINGTON — They came by the hundreds that hot August day in tiny Johnson City, Tenn., gathering on an asphalt parking lot to meet …

Wolfowitz must be told to resign now  —  The president of the World Bank has one asset: his credibility.  The Bank's capacity to make a difference lies not in its money and ideas but in its ability to be the world's voice for development.  This includes, as Paul Wolfowitz, the current president …

AL SHARPTON, ARBITER ELEGANTIAE  —  When Don Imus sought absolution for his characteristic display of poor taste, he bent his knee to Pope Al Sharpton.  How is it that Al Sharpton has become the arbiter elegantiae for matters pertaining to race and etiquette?

Top Dem urges colleagues to push on Iraq  —  WASHINGTON - A memo from a top House Democrat says party leaders must not yield to White House pressure on Iraq and should cast President Bush as increasingly detached from public opinion.  —  Bush has said he will not negotiate with Democrats …

'I am plotting a new Russian revolution'  —  London exile Berezovsky says force necessary to bring down President Putin  —  The Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky has told the Guardian he is plotting the violent overthrow of President Putin from his base in Britain after forging close contacts with members of Russia's ruling elite.

Open thread: Fireworks on the Factor with Michelle hosting?  Update: Video added  —  The show's starting now; comment below if you're watching.  I'm reliably informed that one guest lobs a sexist insult at Michelle — but a "good," progressive kind of sexist insult, not a retrograde conservative one.

Net reaches out to final frontier  —  A programme to kick-start the use of internet communications in space has been announced by the US government.  —  The Department of Defense's Iris project will put an internet router in space by the start of 2009.  —  It will allow voice …

The Surge: First Fruits  —  By the day, the debate at home about Iraq becomes increasingly disconnected from the realities of the war on the ground.  The Democrats in Congress are so consumed with negotiating among their factions the most clever linguistic device to legislatively ensure …

Immigration Debate Sours for Illegals  —  AP Photo CASP102  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - The terms of the immigration debate have turned less friendly for illegal immigrants as lawmakers and the Bush administration struggle to reach a deal in the next few weeks.  —  The landscape for an immigration overhaul …

Romney Plays Down Role in Health Law  —  Massachusetts Legislation Is Widely Lauded, but Not by Conservative Republicans  —  As Mitt Romney aggressively courts conservatives in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, landmark health-care legislation that the former Massachusetts governor signed …

Early Verdict on Whitehouse Favorable  —  Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) was getting needled by his peers from the moment he walked into his first meeting of Judiciary Committee Democrats in early January.  —  "Hey, Sheldon," Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) barked at the newcomer, a member of one of his state's oldest families.