Progress in Iraq likely to miss target  —  Military officers doubt any of the three top goals will be achieved before the September assessment.  —  BAGHDAD — U.S. military leaders in Iraq are increasingly convinced that most of the broad political goals President Bush laid out early this year …

Mexican Audience Boos Miss USA During Miss Universe Pageant  —  MEXICO CITY — It wasn't Miss USA's night.  —  Booed mercilessly at the Miss Universe pageant by a Mexican audience angry at U.S. immigration policy, and seen by millions of TV viewers as she slipped and fell on the pageant stage …

Bush the Neoliberal  —  Years ago, someone coined the term "neoliberal."  I was never sure what it meant, and it has since fallen into disuse, but whatever the case, I'd like to revive (and mangle) the term and apply it — brace yourself — to George W. Bush.  He's more liberal than you might think.

President Bush Discusses Genocide in Darfur, Implements Sanctions  —  Fact Sheet: Fighting Genocide in Darfur  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.  For too long, the people of Darfur have suffered at the hands of a government that is complicit in the bombing, murder, and rape of innocent civilians.

Cindy Sheehan Calls It Quits  —  Anti-War Activist And Mom Of Killed G.I. In Iraq Resigns Role As "Face" Of Movement  —  (CBS/AP) Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan announced Monday she is giving up her role as the "face" of the American anti-war movement.  —  "I've been wondering …

Court Protects Gender Discrimintion  —  As Ruth Bader Ginsburg notes, the evidence of gender discrimination in the case of Ledbetter v. Goodyear, decided today by the Supreme Court, is unambiguous: … Despite this, and contrary to the judgment of the EEOC, the Court by a bare 5-4 majority threw …

Sooner Rather Than Later  —  COBURN OK  —  Sen. Tom Coburn is mulling an entry into the Republican presidential primary, according to sources inside and outside the Senate.  Coburn, a senator from Oklahoma, is believed to be receiving encouragement from a small group of wealthy businessmen …

Zoellick frontrunner to lead World Bank  —  Robert Zoellick, former US deputy secretary of state, has emerged as the frontrunner to be the next president of the World Bank.  —  Senior US administration officials expect a decision on the successor to Paul Wolfowitz, who steps down as bank president …

Social conservatives bite bullet, back Rudy  —  Rudy Giuliani, whose positions on abortion and homosexuality mark him as the most socially liberal Republican presidential candidate in more than a generation, is so far winning the contest for the support of social conservatives, according to a new analysis of recent polls.

Campaign Puts New Strain on Secret Service  —  Big Field and Early Start Force Cuts in Other Efforts  —  The U.S. Secret Service expects to borrow more than 2,000 immigration officers and federal airport screeners next year to help guard an ever-expanding field of presidential candidates …

Venezuela protests TV clampdown by Chavez  —  CARACAS (AFP) - President Hugo Chavez's clampdown on opposition television stations widened Monday as police used rubber bullets and tear gas on demonstrators protesting what they called an attack on free speech.

Romney Says 'No Salary' if President  —  DOVER, N.H. (AP) - Republican Mitt Romney, conceding that his business career helped him make more money than he expected, said Tuesday he would likely decline a salary as president and instead donate the money - and more - to charity.

Rules 'hiding' trillions in debt  —  Liability $516,348 per U.S. household  —  The federal government recorded a $1.3 trillion loss last year — far more than the official $248 billion deficit — when corporate-style accounting standards are used, a USA TODAY analysis shows.

Kharmah Awakens  —  "In fact, there is a civil war in progress in Iraq, one comparable in important respects to other civil wars that have occurred in postcolonial states with weak institutions.  Those cases suggest that the Bush administration's political objective in Iraq—creating a stable …

TO TEMPER IMAGE, GIULIANI TRADES GROWL FOR SMILE  —  ATLANTA — Oh, baby, here it comes.  The gray-haired woman raises her hand and compliments His Honor for his Sept. 11 bravery.  Then she asks him:  —  Why does so much of the world hate us?  Haven't we failed to understand Arab grievances?

The Conservative Mind  —  The American right is a cauldron of debate; the left isn't.  —  The left prides itself on, and frequently boasts of, its superior appreciation of the complexity and depth of moral and political life.  But political debate in America today tells a different story.

China Sentences Former Drug Regulator to Death  —  The former head of China's top food and drug safety agency was sentenced to death today after pleading guilty to corruption and accepting bribes, according to the state-controlled news media.  —  Zheng Xiaoyu, who served as director …

Texas is a Better Place  —  Here follows a letter from a woman who recently attended the Texas funeral of her nephew, KIA in Iraq.  In many places around the country, members of the Sheehan-Reid-Obama-Clinton cult disrupt military funerals, but I doubt they would attempt to perform …