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 …

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

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.

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.

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 …

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".

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 …

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 …

David Halberstam, 73, War Reporter and Author, Is Killed in a Car Crash  —  David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and tireless author of books on topics as varied as America's military failings in Vietnam, the deaths of firefighters at the World Trade Center and the high-pressure world …

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 …

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."

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 …

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.

Bees Vanish, and Scientists Race for Reasons  —  What is happening to the bees?  —  More than a quarter of the country's 2.4 million bee colonies have been lost — tens of billions of bees, according to an estimate from the Apiary Inspectors of America, a national group that tracks beekeeping.

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 …

McCain Campaign Replaces Finance Director  —  After logging a disappointing fundraising haul in the first quarter, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has decided to make a change at the top of his campaign's finance operation.  —  Carla Eudy, a longtime fundraising consultant for McCain …