Low-key office launches high-profile inquiry  —  The Office of Special Counsel will investigate U.S. attorney firings and other political activities led by Karl Rove.  —  WASHINGTON — Most of the time, an obscure federal investigative unit known as the Office of Special Counsel confines itself …

Video: O'Reilly names those who recycle Media Matters' garbage  —  Bill O'Reilly went after Media Matters tonight in his Talking Points Memo and in the segment that followed.  He named several influential media figures who regurgitate content and talking points from Media Matters uncritically.

Suicide blast kills 9 U.S. soldiers  —  Attack in Diyala province comes same day 5 other explosions kill 46  —  Demonstrators in Baghdad's Adhamiya district protest Monday against the construction of concrete walls in the area.  —  NBC video  —  Walling off neighborhoods

Wolfowitz Hires Prominent Lawyer in Fight to Stay at World Bank  —  Paul D. Wolfowitz, signaling anew that he will fight for his job as World Bank president, has enlisted a prominent lawyer who defended President Bill Clinton against accusations of sexual misconduct to help convince …

At Trial, Pain Has a Witness  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va. —William E. Hurwitz, the prominent doctor on trial here for drug trafficking, spent more than two days on the witness stand last week telling a jury why he had prescribed painkillers to patients who turned out to be drug dealers and addicts.

Minimum-Wage Accord Produces Protests  —  The Iraq spending bill moving through Congress includes a provision to increase the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade.  But Democrats have stripped out a variety of contentious tax measures that had been tied to the minimum-wage legislation …

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs  —  Good morning.  We all know that these are not the best of times for America's reputation in the world.  We know what the war in Iraq has cost us in lives and treasure, in influence and respect.

Negotiators Agree on War-Funding Package  —  House-Senate Bill, Which Sets Timetable for Troop Withdrawal, Likely to Face Veto  —  House and Senate negotiators reached agreement yesterday on war-funding legislation that would begin bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq as early as July …

Crow calls for limit on loo paper  —  Singer Sheryl Crow has said a ban on using too much toilet paper should be introduced to help the environment.  —  Crow has suggested using "only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required".

The Big White Lie  —  The thing I like best about being a conservative is that I don't have to lie.  I don't have to pretend that men and women are the same.  I don't have to declare that failed or oppressive cultures are as good as mine.  I don't have to say that everyone's special …

Obama's Rise Strains Loyalty on Clinton Turf  —  Only a few months ago, the vast majority of black elected officials in New York were expected to support the presidential candidacy of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.  But no longer.  —  In a series of interviews, a significant number …

Gingrich hires pollster  —  Newt Gingrich has hired a pollster and a fundraiser, but not for a presidential campaign - at least not yet.  —  Gingrich, the former speaker of the House and leader of the 1994 Republican revolution, has not discouraged speculation he'll add his name to the list …

At Least the Boss Was Satisfied by Gonzales's Answers  —  President Bush said Monday that the Congressional testimony of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales last week, roundly panned by members of both parties, had "increased my confidence in his ability to do the job."

Jawa Celebration: Abu Izzadeen & 5 Others Arrested in Terror Ring *Sticky*  —  UPDATE EXCLUSIVE: An Islamist forum connected with Omar Bakri Mohammed, and previously exposed here at The Jawa Report, has listed the names of the six terror suspects arrested today.

Why Boycott Israel?  —  In Iran, the government overturned the convictions of six men who, among other things, killed a young couple because they were walking together in public.  In China, local authorities seized about 60 women and forcibly aborted their pregnancies.

Al-Maliki support eroding in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD — A broad range of prominent Iraqi lawmakers say they have lost confidence in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ability to reconcile the country's warring factions.  A leading Kurdish lawmaker said al-Maliki should resign.