Car bomb found in London's West End  —  Police have defused a car bomb found near Piccadilly Circus in London's West End.  —  The "explosive device", discovered at 2am, posed a real and substantial threat to the surrounding area, according to a police source.

Domestic Issues Frame Democratic Debate  —  For 90 minutes Thursday night, eight Democratic candidates debated before an audience made up largely of one of their party's most reliable and liberal constituencies, African-American voters, and used the stage to urge a revitalization of domestic programs …

An Incredible Week on the Long March to Right America  —  Winston Churchill once remarked that God takes care of drunks and the United States of America and so it seems to be as we approach the end of a remarkable week in which milestones of success for the conservative movement have come one after another.

Immigrant Bill Dies in Senate; Defeat for Bush  —  President Bush's effort to overhaul the nation's immigration policy, a cornerstone of his domestic agenda, collapsed Thursday in the Senate, with little prospect that it can be revived before Mr. Bush leaves office in 19 months.

Justices Limit the Use of Race in School Plans for Integration  —  With competing blocs of justices claiming the mantle of Brown v. Board of Education, a bitterly divided Supreme Court declared Thursday that public school systems cannot seek to achieve or maintain integration through measures …

Fragile immigration compromise shatters loudly  —  Wow, that was a squeaker.  —  We heard for several days that the big immigration cloture vote was going to be really, really close.  "Razor-thin," as the highly trained professional pundits like to say.  —  I thought so, too.

Why Do Cats Hang Around Us?  (Hint: They Can't Open Cans)  —  Genetic Research Suggests Felines 'Domesticated Themselves'  —  Your hunch is correct.  Your cat decided to live with you, not the other way around.  The sad truth is, it may not be a final decision.  —  But don't take this feline diffidence personally.

Putin's Arctic invasion: Russia lays claim to the North Pole - and all its gas, oil, and diamonds  —  Russian President Vladimir Putin is making an astonishing bid to grab a vast chunk of the Arctic - so he can tap its vast potential oil, gas and mineral wealth.

Mrs. McCain Is Speaking Up in a Steely Tone  —  Cindy McCain on the presidential campaign trail in 2000 was mostly a cheerful sidekick to her husband, keeping her positions on national policy to herself.  —  When her husband, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona …

Bush Faces `No-Win' Pressures to Pardon Convicted Cheney Aide  —  President George W. Bush is likely to pay a political price if he decides to pardon convicted vice presidential aide Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby — or if he decides not to pardon him.  —  With the start of Libby's 2 1/2-year prison term looming …

Obama: Impeachment is not acceptable  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama laid out list of political shortcomings he sees in the Bush administration but said he opposes impeachment for either President George W. Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney.