Al Qaeda in Iraq leader killed: Interior Ministry  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was killed on Tuesday in an internal fight between insurgents, the Interior Ministry spokesman said, but the U.S. military said it could not confirm the report.

Bill on Iraq to Be Delivered 4 Years After Bush's Words  —  Democratic leaders in Congress are planning a special ceremony on Tuesday afternoon to send President Bush a bill that sets timetables for troop withdrawal from Iraq.  —  The timing is no accident.

Romney Favors Hubbard Novel  —  "What's your favorite novel?" is a perennial campaign question, the answer to which presumably gives insight into leadership.  —  A "Moby-Dick" lover may understand the perils of obsessively chasing of a goal.  A fan of "To Kill a Mockingbird" may well focus on racial justice.

'Mission Accomplished' By The Numbers … U.S. Troops Wounded … U.S. Troops Killed … Contractors Killed … Journalists and Media Assistants Killed … U.S. Forces in Iraq … Size of Iraqi Security Forces … Number of Insurgents … Insurgent Attacks Per Day … Cost to U.S. Taxpayers

McCain Favors a 'League of Democracies'  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain envisions a "League of Democracies" as part of a more cooperative foreign policy with U.S. allies.  —  The Arizona senator will call for such an organization to be …

Shadowy Iraq office accused of sectarian agenda … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraq's prime minister has created an entity within his government that U.S. and Iraqi military officials say is being used as a smokescreen to hide an extreme Shiite agenda that is worsening the country's sectarian divide.

News Corp. Offers $60 a Share In Unsolicited Bid for Dow Jones  —  Dow Jones & Co., parent of The Wall Street Journal, said it received an unsolicited $5 billion offer from News Corp.  —  The publisher said the board and members and trustees of the controlling Bancroft family are evaluating …

War as reality rather than cartoon  —  Almost from the start of the Israeli war in Lebanon, Israelis were aggressively critical of their government's prosecution of the war.  While most (though by no means all) Israelis were originally supportive of the decision to commence the war …

The Left's New Machine  —  MOST POLITICAL ACTIVISTS can point to one catalyzing event, an episode in each of their lives (or, more often, in the life of their country) that shook them from their complacency and roused them to change the world.  You can find many such stories if you troll through …

April Toll Is Highest Of '07 for U.S. Troops  —  Over 100 Killed in Month; Iraqi Deaths Far Higher  —  The deaths of more than 100 American troops in April made it the deadliest month so far this year for U.S. forces in Iraq, underscoring the growing exposure of Americans as thousands …

U.S. Cites 91 Percent Rise In Terrorist Acts in Iraq  —  The number of terrorism incidents in Iraq — and resulting deaths, injuries and kidnappings — skyrocketed from 2005 to 2006, according to statistics released by U.S. counterterrorism officials yesterday.