Turkish officials say troops enter Iraq  —  ANKARA, Turkey - Hundreds of Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq on Wednesday pursuing Kurdish guerrillas who stage attacks on Turkey from hideouts there, Turkish security officials and an Iraqi Kurd official said.

Transcript: Third G.O.P. Debate  —  The following is a transcript of the 2008 Republican presidential candidates debate hosted by CNN, WMUR-TV and The New Hampshire Union Leader.  The participants were Senator Sam Brownback, the former Virginia Gov. James Gilmore, the former …

[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: Can He Unleash the Force?  —  Like all young superheroes, Barack Obama has to learn to harness his powers.

Murdoch, Ailes, Weymouth Pump Bloomberg At Breindel Awards  —  "I'm sworn to secrecy," Rupert Murdoch told The Observer as he was leaving the New-York Historical Society's auditorium last night.  But: "We're making progress," the News Corp. chief added.  —  Mr. Murdoch hosted …

Giuliani will skip August straw poll  —  New Yorker plans "non-traditional" caucus run  —  Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani plans to skip the Ames straw poll in August, but compete to win the leadoff Iowa caucuses, a gamble by the former New York Mayor on a "non-traditional" caucus campaign and a first for Iowa.

Democrats Hope to Expand Rights at Guantánamo  —  A day after two military judges ruled against the Bush administration's system for trying terrorism detainees, Democrats seized on the rulings on Tuesday as evidence that Congress should restore the right of those held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to challenge their detentions.

Muhammad to top boys' names list  —  Muhammad is now second only to Jack as the most popular name for baby boys in Britain and is likely to rise to No 1 by next year, a study by The Times has found.  The name, if all 14 different spellings are included, was shared by 5,991 newborn boys last year …

Support for Senate Immigration Bill Falls, 49% Prefer No Bill At All  —  Public support for the Senate immigration reform bill has slipped a bit over the past week.  A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Monday and Tuesday night found that just 23% of voters now support the bill while 50% are opposed.

In Saudi Arabia, a view from behind the veil  —  As a woman in the male-dominated kingdom, Times reporter Megan Stack quietly fumed beneath her abaya.  Even beyond its borders, her experience taints her perception of the sexes.  —  Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — The hem of my heavy Islamic cloak trailed over floors that glistened like ice.

Equipment levels worst ever, Guard chief says  —  ANCHORAGE, Alaska — About half of all National Guard equipment is being used in the Middle East, and the Guard's senior uniformed officer said Tuesday that could hurt the organization's overall readiness at home.

Credibility of JFK terror case questioned  —  When U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf described the alleged terror plot to blow up Kennedy Airport as "one of the most chilling plots imaginable," which might have caused "unthinkable" devastation, one law enforcement official said he cringed.

Rudy: No on Medical Marijuana  —  Just finished my reporting trip with a Rudy Giuliani town hall in New Castle, New Hampshire, a tiny island luxuryville a few miles from Portsmouth.  Don Murphy from Republicans for Compassionate Access, the pro-medical marijuana group, got to ask Rudy …

GOP Lawmakers Demand Probe of ABC News Story  —  Justin Rood Reports:  —  A group of House Republicans are calling for an investigation into "the release of sensitive information" in a recent ABC News report on CIA covert activities against Iran.  —  In a carefully worded request …

Journalists, You're in the Army Now  —  The days of the independent, neutral war correspondent, objectively reporting from a war's front lines, are quickly coming to an end.  In the future, a war correspondent will either effectively be a soldier for one faction of a conflict, or he will literally not survive in the war zone.

Be Careful What You Sue For  —  Pursuing a libel or slander suit has long been a dangerous enterprise.  Oscar Wilde sued the father of his young lover Alfred Douglas for having referred to him as a "posing Somdomite" and wound up not only dropping his case but being tried …

Eppure si muove...or does it?  —  Just got an email reminder from the ICPSR data archive yesterday that the 2006 GSS data are out and ready to play with.  Always curious to know what's happening with my favorite survey of the attitudes and behaviors of the American population I looked around the codebook to see what was new for 2006.

Crushes  —  I honestly don't know what to make of all these men in the political establishment who insist on using their mancrushes as some sort of guideline for who is and is not "presidential."  Honestly, even Kathryn Jean Lopez's famous drooling over Mitt Romney isn't as embarrassing.