President Open to Benchmarks in Iraq Measure  —  Hours before the House approved a plan on Thursday to finance the Iraq war only through midsummer, President Bush offered his first public concession to try to resolve the impasse on war spending, acknowledging rising pressure from his own party and the public.

Karl Rove's big election-fraud hoax  —  By evil chance, I spent the Saturday night before Election Day 2000 at a jolly dinner for high-level Republicans.  Most of the talk over the entrees concerned why then-candidate George W. Bush had been too pusillanimous to tell the voters that Al Gore …

Did informant aid Fort Dix plotters?  —  Entrapment defense may be presented in court for alleged plot against U.S.  —  CHERRY HILL, N.J. - He railed against the United States, helped scout out military installations for attack, offered to introduce his comrades to an arms dealer and gave …

How the CIA Failed America  —  George Tenet sets the stage in his memoir by recalling a conversation he claims to have had with me on Sept. 12, 2001: "As I walked beneath the awning that leads to the West Wing[, I] saw Richard Perle exiting the building just as I was about to enter. …

Bush and Democrats in Accord on Trade Deals  —  The Bush administration reached agreement on Thursday with the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and other Democrats to attach environmental and worker protections in several pending trade accords, clearing the way for early passage of some pacts and improving prospects for others.

Giuliani Snubs Jones County  —  OLIN-Last weekend Deb and Jerry VonSprecken of Olin received a call from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's campaign office asking them if they would be interested in holding a campaign rally on May 4, after she had donated to his campaign.

Romney Works to Put Skeptics' Doubts to Rest  —  Bart Pals, a county chairman for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, had been given talking points to use when he introduced the former Massachusetts governor at an event in northern Iowa on Wednesday.  —  But Mr. Pals chose to depart …

CBS fires Gen. Batiste over VoteVets ad.  —  Iraq veteran Gen. John Batiste "has been asked to leave his position as a consultant to CBS News" over a new VoteVets ad criticizing the Iraq war.  He was interviewed tonight by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.  Watch it:  —  Digg It!  —  The URI to TrackBack this entry is:

John Edwards' big ideas costly  —  WASHINGTON - Presidential candidate John Edwards is offering more policy proposals than any other candidate in the primary and his ideas are winning loud applause from Democratic audiences.  —  The question is whether other voters will cheer when they see the price tag …

Gun Shy  —  Sipping soda from a straw and leaning on his elbows at Perkins, Troy Scheffler seems harmless enough.  The 31-year-old Hamline University grad student resembles a post-Pulp Fiction John Travolta—slightly overstuffed, with graying sideburns and a small, tense smile.

As Gas Prices Rise Again, Democrats Blame Big Oil  —  A week after U.S. gasoline prices hit a near-record $3.05 a gallon, Democrats in Congress are promoting legislation taking aim at the big oil companies, although industry experts say that the efforts aren't likely to have any effect.

Rudy Giuliani and the corporate drug pushers  —  Before Rudy Giuliani was the great anti-terrorist, killing bin Laden with his mouth, he made something of a name as a drug warrior, heading the (disastrously unsuccessful) anti-cocaine efforts of the early Reagan Administration and ordering the …

Put It Out, Shweetheart  —  Hollywood Kicks the Habit, Rules That Movies With Smoking Could Go From PG to R Rating  —  Would "Casablanca" have been rated XXX?  —  Depictions of smoking in movies will now be a factor when deciding what a film's rating will be, possibly making a PG-13 movie R-rated …

The Line: Expect a Democratic Runoff in Ky. Gov. Race  —  It's down to the wire in the Kentucky governor's race.  —  Gov. Ernie Fletcher and former Rep. Anne Northup are exchanging televised body blows over ethics in advance of the May 22 Republican primary, while two former lieutenant governors …