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 …

Former Chairman of G.O.P. Will Join Bush's Inner Circle  —  Ed Gillespie, a prominent Washington lobbyist, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and longtime adviser to President Bush, will join the White House inner circle as the next counselor to the president, Mr. Bush said Wednesday.

Angelina Jolie's Freedom of Press, on Her Terms  —  Odds 'n' Ends  —  Angelina Jolie's Freedom of Press, on Her Terms  —  Angelina Jolie's true colors came out Wednesday as she promoted a film about freedom of the press and then tried to censor all her interviews.

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.

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 …

Let's Get Serious  —  What do liberal hawks actually want to do regarding Iran?  —  "Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so," said John Kenneth Galbraith, "almost everyone gets busy on the proof."  —  Today's liberal hawks are engaged in a slightly subtler game.

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 …

Alito Calls Free-Speech Limits 'Dangerous' as Court Considers Cases  —  Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. made it clear as he began taking questions at yesterday's National Italian American Foundation luncheon that he couldn't reveal any of the Supreme Court's forthcoming opinions.  —  But did he at least give a hint?