Obama now virtually tied with Clinton, poll shows  —  WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are essentially tied for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, the first time that the New York senator hasn't clearly led the field.

Democrats Fear a Wider Black Caucus-Pelosi Rift  —  Democratic leaders fear that Rep. William J. Jefferson's indictment yesterday on racketeering and bribery charges, coming exactly one year after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi engineered his ouster from the powerful Ways and Means Committee …

Libby Faces Sentencing in CIA Leak Case  —  U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton this morning began the sentencing phase in the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, who has been convicted of lying to investigators about his role in leaking the identity of an undercover CIA officer.

Cheated of Future, Iraqi Graduates Want to Flee  —  They started college just before or after the American invasion with dreams of new friends and parties, brilliant teachers and advanced degrees that would lead to stellar jobs, marriage and children.  Success seemed well within their grasp.

Scooter Libby Love Letters  —  Washington elite petition judge on behalf of convicted Cheney aide  —  Donald Rumsfeld, Henry Kissinger, Paul Wolfowitz, and John Bolton top the list of individuals who wrote a federal judge on behalf of former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby …

Realists on Iraq  —  Democratic presidential candidates should listen to the "experts" they so often cite.  —  During Sunday night's Democratic presidential debate, the candidates cited an oft-repeated source of the mess in Iraq: The White House's refusal to heed knowledgeable advice.

A war that never ends  —  Forty years ago tomorrow, Israel wielded its terrible swift sword against the attack-poised armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan - and saved the Jewish state from destruction.  —  It was the Six-Day War, and the fledgling state's stunning victory over enemies determined …

A Cuban death rehearsal  —  135 » Witness » A Cuban death rehearsal  —  With Fidel Castro apparently on the verge of death, I returned to Cuba to visit old friends.  Little has changed over recent years and life for most Cubans remains harsh.  Yet western visitors continue to romanticise the place

Congressman Sought Bribes, Indictment Says  —  Representative William J. Jefferson, the Louisiana Democrat at the center of an investigation that included an F.B.I. raid at his Congressional office and accusations that he hid $90,000 in bribe money in his home freezer, was indicted Monday …

Senator Craig Thomas of Wyoming Dies at 74  —  Senator Craig Thomas, a three-term Republican from Wyoming, died Monday evening, just hours after his staff reported that the treatment he was receiving for leukemia was no longer working.  He was 74.  —  Under Wyoming's election laws …

Hillary Inc.  —  In a packed ballroom in midtown Manhattan, Hillary Clinton is addressing hundreds of civil rights activists and labor leaders convened by the Rev. Al Sharpton for his annual National Action Network conference.  The junior senator from New York starts slowly but picks up steam …

McCain urges rivals to avoid divisive issue  —  Sen. John McCain yesterday pleaded with his fellow candidates for the Republican presidential nomination not to take political advantage of the immigration fight within the party.  —  "I would hope they wouldn't play politics for their own interests …

Libby Sentencing Five  —  Need to consider seriousness of offense.  Investigation extremely serious.  Conduct of Mr Libby is serious behavior.  Has to be a sentence that promotes respect for law.  Indivs should understand there are consequences.  Obviously, punishment has to be considered.

Immigration's bad guys  —  Those who seek to halt the flow of illegals are neither anti-immigrant nor racist.  —  ENOUGH Emma Lazarus.  For many of us, the definitive pro-immigration speech comes from Bill Murray in "Stripes": "We're all very different people.  We're not Watusi, we're not Spartans, we're Americans.