U.S. Arming Sunnis in Iraq to Battle Old Qaeda Allies  —  With the four-month-old increase in American troops showing only modest success in curbing insurgent attacks, American commanders are turning to another strategy that they acknowledge is fraught with risk: arming Sunni Arab groups …

Today's Must Read  —  A majority of Democrats in the Senate are ready to cast a symbolic vote of no confidence against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales today, the Associated Press reports.  —  So far Republicans are offering meager support for the resolution and it's unclear whether backers …

Studies say death penalty deters crime  —  Anti-death penalty forces have gained momentum in the past few years, with a moratorium in Illinois, court disputes over lethal injection in more than a half-dozen states and progress toward outright abolishment in New Jersey.

Immigration Judges Often Picked Based On GOP Ties  —  Law Forbids Practice; Courts Being Reshaped  —  The Bush administration increasingly emphasized partisan political ties over expertise in recent years in selecting the judges who decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of immigrants …

GOP's Powell Is Now Advising Obama  —  WASHINGTON — Colin Powell, who only a decade ago was being discussed as a possible Republican presidential nominee and who more recently served as President Bush's first secretary of state, is advising a Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Obama of Illinois.

Reagan's famous line nearly clipped from Berlin speech  —  SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Top administration officials said the speech was all wrong.  Too provocative, said the National Security Council.  Too tough, said the State Department.  —  The president overruled his advisers and …

THAAAT'S What We Were All Waiting For?  Angry 'Sopranos' Fans Crash HBO Website  —  The line to cancel HBO starts here.  What a ridiculously disappointing end lacking in creativity to The Sopranos saga.  But if you're one of those who found it perversely interesting, then don't bother to read on.

Romney's Run Has Mormons Wary of Scrutiny  —  LOGAN, Utah — In this wide valley where the twin spires of the Mormon temple dominate the landscape and some neighborhoods have a Mormon chapel every few blocks, Mitt Romney's bid for president is both a proud sign of progress and a cause of trepidation.

U.S. relies on Sudan despite condemning it  —  The nation accused of aiding the killings in Darfur provides spies in Iraq.  In return, it gets access in Washington.  —  WASHINGTON — Sudan has secretly worked with the CIA to spy on the insurgency in Iraq, an example of how the U.S …

Marijuana Law in Connecticut Gains Ground  —  Seventeen years ago, Mark Braunstein dived 60 feet off a footbridge into a river, landed wrong and became a paraplegic.  A librarian at Connecticut College, Mr. Braunstein, 55, walks with the aid of crutches and leg braces.

'Political meddling' ruining learning in schools  —  The curriculum in state schools in England has been stripped of its content and corrupted by political interference, according to a damning report by an influential, independent think-tank.  —  It warns of the educational apartheid opening …

General Retreat  —  Secretary of Defense Levin picks a new war leader.  —  There's a rumor going around that Robert Gates is the Secretary of Defense.  We'd like to request official confirmation, because based on recent evidence the man running the Pentagon is Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan.

Video: Dennis Miller goes nuclear on Harry Reid  —  The e-mails are flooding in.  You want it?  You got it.  —  If Rasmussen's right, this should resonate broadly.  —  Blowback