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.

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.

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 …

Obama aide wants Libby pardoned  —  Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) top lawyer publicly made the case yesterday for a presidential pardon for convicted White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.  —  Obama general counsel Robert Bauer did not ask his boss, a presidential candidate …

Primary Calendar Poses Big Challenges  —  As they criss-cross the nation at a dizzying pace, Democratic and Republican presidential candidates are locked in a fast-track campaign that has forced frontrunners and the far-behind to rethink the traditional path to nomination seven months before a single vote is cast.

Upper-income black donors back Obama over Clinton  —  WASHINGTON — Democrat Barack Obama is surpassing rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in campaign contributions from areas with blacks of above-average income, a USA TODAY analysis shows.  —  The Illinois senator has received more than double …

'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  The offer was withdrawn when Bush found out most Albanians haven't broken any U.S. laws.

Bleak Mood Drags Down Support for Bush, Congress  —  An increasingly gloomy political environment has soured Americans on President Bush and Congress, scrambled the Republicans' 2008 field, and strengthened Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton's lead, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

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 …