Ex-Aide to Gonzales Accused Of Bias  —  Justice Department Scrutinizes Role of Politics in Hiring  —  The Justice Department has launched an internal investigation into whether Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales's former White House liaison illegally took party affiliation into account …

Senior al Qaeda leader killed in Iraq: ministry  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed the head of the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, an al Qaeda-led militant group that has claimed many major attacks in the country, Iraq's deputy interior minister said on Thursday.

Dodd Throws a Punch  —  Following the flap over David Geffen's comments, all of the Democrats running for president resorted to playing nice publicly.  —  Until now.  —  Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) just released a statement taking former Sen. John Edwards to task for his new ads …

Democrats Back Down On Iraq Timetable  —  Compromise Bill in Works After Veto Override Fails  —  President Bush and congressional leaders began negotiating a second war funding bill yesterday, with Democrats offering the first major concession: an agreement to drop their demand for a timeline to bring troops home from Iraq.

Content analysis of O'Reilly's rhetoric finds spin to be a 'factor'  —  Commentator uses name-calling more than once every seven seconds in 'Talking Points Memo'  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  —  BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Bill O'Reilly may proclaim at the beginning of his program that viewers are entering the …

Fred Thompson: MoveOn, Reid Are Taking 'Extremist Positions And Doing Extremist Things'  —  Last night on Hannity & Colmes, former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) claimed that congressional leaders are "adhering, to the extent they can, to the most left-wing element of their base.

24 For Kids  —  Ann Coulter: set your Tivo.  Money quote: … That's a strong "enhanced" message.  Just like Mr Tenet says.

Lawful incest may be on its way  —  WHEN THE BBC invited me onto one of its talk shows recently to talk about the day's hot topic — legalizing adult incest — I thought of Rick Santorum.  —  Back in 2003, as the Supreme Court was preparing to rule in Lawrence v. Texas …

WFNR considers pulling Boortz  —  Scott Stevens knew Neal Boortz was a "hate monger."  But he had only received a single, generic complaint about Boortz's remarks regarding the shootings at Virginia Tech.  Now, Stevens says WFNR AM 710 in Pulaski will strongly consider pulling Boortz …

G.O.P. Contenders Ponder What to Say About Bush  —  As they gather Thursday night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for their first debate, the Republican presidential candidates are thrilled at the chance to associate themselves with Reagan.  But they may not be able to escape …

New Army Rules Could Kill G.I. Blogs (Maybe E-mail, Too)  —  New Army Rules Could Kill G.I. Blogs (Maybe E-mail, Too)  —  The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned.

Bush: "I'm the Commander Guy"  —  WASHINGTON, May 2-And you thought he was still "the decider."  —  President Bush coined a new nickname for himself — ''the commander guy" — on Wednesday, as he criticized Congressional Democrats in a speech to the annual gathering of the Associated General Contractors …

Ahmadinejad under fire for embracing his old teacher  —  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been accused of indecency after he publicly embraced and kissed on the hand an elderly woman who used to be his schoolteacher.  —  At a ceremony on Tuesday ahead of Iranian teachers' day …

The Case for the Strong Executive  —  Under some circumstances, the rule of law must yield to the need for energy.  —  Complaints against the "imperial presidency" are back in vogue.  With a view to President Bush, the late Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. expanded and reissued the book …

Man Dies of Thirst During Survival Test  —  us-news, of, new-jersey, thirst, by-day, dave-buschow, dead-of-thirst, of-thirst  —  BOULDER, UTAH — By Day 2 in the blazing Utah desert, Dave Buschow was in bad shape.  Pale, wracked by cramps, his speech slurred, the 29-year-old New Jersey man …

Bombs Away: Hmmm . . . What's His Name & Religion?  —  An unnamed 23-year-old man from Canton, Michigan—a Detroit suburb near Dearbornistan with a large Muslim population composed primarily of Pakis, er . . . Pakistanis—should be among this year's candidates for the Darwin awards.

Dow: Best winning streak since '55  —  Blue-chip gauge hits another record, capping best stretch of gains in 52 years; earnings, buyouts, factory orders all help.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Dow Jones industrial average hit another record high Wednesday, capping its longest winning stretch …