Toll Mounts in Pakistan On Second Day of Clashes  —  Clashes between government supporters and opposition activists flared for a second day Sunday in the country's largest city, bringing the weekend death toll to about 40.  —  The clashes in the southern city of Karachi were prompted …

Hagel-Bloomberg In '08?  You Never Know  —  Senator Says Today's GOP Is Not The Party He Joined; Considers An Independent Ticket In '08  —  (CBS) The Republican Party has been "hijacked" and led away from its core values, Chuck Hagel, the Republican Senator from Nebraska, said Sunday on Face The Nation.

Haven't We had Enough Good ol' Boys For a While?  —  Dean Barnett conjures up a terrifying picture (albeit not one that scares him): … That's not pop culture.  That's rural Southern culture.  Nascar.  The opiate of the good ol' boy masses.  Gary Cooper.  A great movie, but hardly au courant.

'More troops' call as Iraq murders soar  —  234 bodies dumped in Baghdad in only 11 days  —  The US military surge in Iraq, designed to turn around the course of the war, appears to be failing as senior US officers admit they need yet more troops and new figures show a sharp increase in the victims of death squads in Baghdad.

Shaping the future  —  (One of the things that goes with being an SF writer is that people expect you to talk about, well, the future.  Last week, engineering consultancy TNG Technology Consulting invited me to Munich to address one of their technology open days.

Taliban chief's death a big U.S. victory  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — The killing of the top Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah, a one-legged fighter who orchestrated suicide attacks, beheadings and an ethnic massacre, marks a major victory for the U.S. campaign at a time of flagging Afghan support over civilian killings.

Judge in Padilla case comes under pressure  —  When Jose Padilla first entered her courtroom in 2006, Miami federal judge Marcia Cooke ordered security guards to uncuff the al-Qaida suspect.  —  "No handcuffs in court, please," she said.  —  It was a small gesture, but one that signaled …

CLERK RINGS UP N.J. JIHAD JERKS  —  HOW HERO HELPED TO STOP PLOT  —  It all began on a frigid January day with 10 bearded Muslim men huddled in the parking lot of a Circuit City debating who would go inside to have a copy made of a tape showing them firing guns and praising jihad.

A young W.Va. mother lost her home in a horrific fire, but she saved what counted most — her son and her unborn baby  —  MOTHER'S DAY 2007  —  Crystal Hauser and sons J.J., left, and Lee, are together at Western Pennsylvania Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, nearly two months after the fire destroyed their home.

Bush playfully conducts orchestra in Va.  —  JAMESTOWN, Va. - JoAnn Falletta was doing what a conductor should — concentrating on the orchestra in front of her.  No wonder it took her a few seconds on Sunday to realize someone behind her was motioning for a try.  President Bush.

Fortress America's gate is open  —  Most terrorists seem like bumbling losers if they're caught before the act: That's certainly true of the Fort Dix jihadists who took their terrorist training DVD to the local audio store to be copied.  It was also true of the Islamists arrested in Toronto …

Transcript: Rudy Giuliani on 'FNS'  —  WASHINGTON — The following is a partial transcript of the May 13, 2007, edition of "FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace":  —  "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" HOST CHRIS WALLACE: Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has been in the center …

Give bigger government a chance  —  For too long, we've bought the idea that government has failed us.  —  ON APRIL 2, this newspaper reported that the Los Angeles Police Department had asked Philip Morris USA for a $50,000 donation to help fund its investigation into counterfeit cigarettes.

Bush's Relations With Capitol Hill Chilly  —  Despite President's Efforts to Reach Out, Democrats and Republicans Are Wary  —  Every few weeks, President Bush invites House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and their GOP counterparts to the White House …