On the Hill, Gonzales Gets His Chance at Redemption  —  When Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales's top aide contemplated the mass dismissal of chief federal prosecutors two years ago, he advocated keeping the "loyal Bushies."  Two years later, the question confronting President Bush is whether …

Iran Exonerates Six Who Killed in Islam's Name  —  The Iranian Supreme Court has overturned the murder convictions of six members of a prestigious state militia who killed five people they considered "morally corrupt."  —  The reversal, in an infamous five-year-old case from Kerman …

Massacre at Va Tech  —  At the memorial ceremony for those slain at Virginia Tech, President Bush said today he did not know what the victims had done to deserve their fate.  How this nation wept as one when thirty innocent Americans perished and twenty more were wounded!

Drinking Age Paradox  —  Public policy often illustrates the law of unintended consequences.  Society's complexity — multiple variables with myriad connections — often causes the consequences of a policy to be contrary to, and larger than, the intended ones.

The Media in the Mud  —  It pales in comparison to the carnage and loss of life this week at Virginia Tech.  But last week the tattered reputation of journalism in this country saw severe damage.  The role of the media in the phony Duke lacrosse rape story and the Don Imus firing left large parts …

Campaign against alleged voter fraud fuels political tempest  —  WASHINGTON - For six years, the Bush administration, aided by Justice Department political appointees, has pursued an aggressive legal effort to restrict voter turnout in key battleground states in ways that favor Republican political candidates.

Public favors giving illegal immigrants a break  —  WASHINGTON — While Congress and the White House remain divided over what to do with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the USA, a new poll shows the American public appears to have reached a consensus on the question.

Package Forced NBC to Make Tough Decisions  —  The package that arrived yesterday at NBC headquarters in New York was almost immediately flagged as suspicious, because it had been mailed from Blacksburg, Va., and bore the return name A. Ishmael.  —  Last night, the anchor of "The NBC Nightly News …

Giuliani's Lead Shrinks, Clinton's Margin Holds  —  Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's lead over his Republican presidential rivals has narrowed considerably, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has maintained her advantage in the race for the Democratic nomination, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The Killer in the Lecture Hall  —  THE sticky note on my door was wiggling.  It was a gift from a student.  —  Glued to the middle of it was a cockroach.  —  Don't get me wrong.  It wasn't that I was an unpopular professor.  To the contrary — according to student evaluations …

McCain visits Murrells Inlet  —  Even though he was nursing a cold, Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain spent nearly 90 minutes talking to nearly 500 people who crammed into the Murrells Inlet VFW Hall Wednesday morning.  —  The "Straight Talk" tour, as it's called, included stops in Summerville and Charleston.

Kitty Carlisle Hart dead at 96 … NEW YORK (AP) — Kitty Carlisle Hart, whose long career spanned Broadway, opera, television and film, including the classic Marx Brothers movie "A Night at the Opera," has died at age 96, her son said Wednesday.  —  Christopher Hart said his mother …

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