Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran  —  Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report:  —  The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

Democrats Drop Troop Pullout Dates From Iraq Bill  —  Congressional Democrats relented today on their insistence that a war spending measure sought by President Bush also set a date for withdrawing troops from Iraq.  The decision to back down, described by senior lawmakers and aides …

Bomb Plot Thwarted at Falwell's Funeral  —  Student Arrested With Homemade Bombs, Three Other Suspects Sought  —  Even in death, the Rev. Jerry Falwell rouses the most volatile of emotions.  —  A small group of protesters gathered near the funeral services to criticize the man …

Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream  —  War on Terror Concerns  —  The first-ever, nationwide, random sample survey of Muslim Americans finds them to be largely assimilated, happy with their lives, and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world.

Bush could double force by Christmas  —  (05-22) 04:00 PDT Washington — The Bush administration is quietly on track to nearly double the number of combat troops in Iraq this year, an analysis of Pentagon deployment orders showed Monday.  —  The little-noticed second surge …

Snow Slams Gore's Book, Says It Should Be 'Reprinted' Because It Calls Out Bush's 'Deception'  —  In his new book The Assault on Reason, Al Gore wrote that Bush's efforts to connect Iraq to 9/11 were an example of the administration's willful "deception" of the public:

Robert Fisk: The road to Jerusalem (via Lebanon)  —  Inspired by al-Qa'ida, a hitherto little-known militant group is behind the outbreak of bloody violence which has left scores dead  —  They came into Lebanon last summer when the world was watching Israel smash this small nation in a vain attempt to destroy the Hizbollah.

Attack on 'sex slavery' targets 8 brothels  —  Federal, state and local authorities said 18 of the 25 people charged with running a prostitution ring are illegal immigrants.  —  The women came mostly from Mexico and Central America.  —  When they arrived in Minnesota …

Gay flamingos pick up chick  —  LONDON (AFP) - A pair of gay flamingos have adopted an abandoned chick, becoming parents after being together for six years, a British conservation organisation said Monday.  —  Carlos and Fernando had been desperate to start a family, even chasing other flamingos …

GSA chief violated Hatch Act, OSC report finds  —  An Office of Special Counsel report has found that General Services Administration chief Lurita Doan violated the Hatch Act, which bars federal officials from partisan political activity while on the job, sources say.

U.S. Government Gave Airtime to Terrorists, Official Admits  —  Justin Rood Reports:  —  Al Hurra television, the U.S. government's $63 million-a-year effort at public diplomacy broadcasting in the Middle East, is run by executives and officials who cannot speak Arabic, according to a senior official who oversees the program.