Key security HQ in Gaza City, last Fatah stronghold, falls  —  Hamas fighters overran Fatah-allied Preventive Security headquarters in Gaza City on Thursday, a key target in their battle to control the entire Gaza Strip, witnesses and a security agency official said.

No Drop in Iraq Violence Seen Since Troop Buildup  —  Three months into the new U.S. military strategy that has sent tens of thousands of additional troops into Iraq, overall levels of violence in the country have not decreased, as attacks have shifted away from Baghdad and Anbar …

Reid labels military leader 'incompetent'  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "incompetent" during an interview Tuesday with a group of liberal bloggers, a comment that was never reported.

FBI Finds It Frequently Overstepped in Collecting Data  —  An internal FBI audit has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years …

Massimum Engagement  —  Caution: what you're about to read will shock you.  —  As you know, Italy's Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema recently joined the distinguished club of diplomats who went to "talk" to Syria, got nothing, got humiliated, got their words twisted, were told one thing …

Research shows Hilton prison time longer than most  —  Paris Hilton will end up serving more time behind bars than the vast majority of inmates sent to Los Angeles County jail for similar offenses, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis of jail records.  —  Whether Hilton received special treatment …

Ex-Justice Dept. lawyer can't recall his role in controversial policies  —  WASHINGTON - Another former Justice Department lawyer went before Congress on Wednesday with few answers for his Democratic interrogators and a spotty memory.  —  Hans von Spakovsky, who's seeking a full six-year term …

For Mrs. Giuliani, Not the Usual Campaign Trail for a Candidate's Wife  —  Three months ago, as Rudolph W. Giuliani was starting his quest for the Republican nomination, his campaign sought to introduce the political world to his third wife, Judith, having her speak at a fund-raiser in New York …

Music Video Has a 'Crush on Obama'  —  Risqué YouTube Song Takes Obama Campaign by Surprise  —  An amusing, risqué music video, featuring a nubile young woman breathlessly singing her love for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., appeared on the Web this week.

DoD braces for a fight with Pelosi  —  Pentagon officials are bracing for a fight with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) over her desire to allow lawmakers' adult children to tag along on taxpayer-funded travel for free.  —  Pelosi wants them to be able to fill the role of lawmakers' spouses …

Rush Limbaugh in hurricane info tempest  —  S. Florida county may drop radio station as official storm broadcast site  —  FORT LAUDERDALE — If it truly wants to be Broward County's official hurricane radio station, here's what WIOD (610 AM) needs to do:  —  Fire Rush Limbaugh.

'No Drug Smuggler Left Behind!'  —  President Bush was so buoyed by the warm reception he was given in Albania that he immediately gave all 3 million Albanians American citizenship, provided they learn Spanish.  The offer was withdrawn when Bush found out most Albanians haven't broken any U.S. laws.