Sens. say Gonzales lied  —  The Senate veered closer to a contempt finding against the White House on Tuesday after an acrimonious appearance by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, with the Judiciary Committee's senior Republican offering options for taking the Bush administration to court.

Disfavor for Bush Hits Rare Heights  —  In Modern Era, Only Nixon Scored Worse, And Only Truman Was Down for So Long  —  President Bush is a competitive guy.  But this is one contest he would rather lose.  With 18 months left in office, he is in the running for most unpopular president in the history of modern polling.

Taliban Allegedly Kill One South Korean Hostage Killed, Others Freed  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban militants claimed they shot and killed one South Korean hostage on Wednesday while a group of abductees was freed and taken to a U.S. military base, officials said.

TSA: Terrorists may try 'dry runs'  —  Security officers alerted to possibility of airport attack after seizures  —  WASHINGTON - Airport security officers around the nation have been alerted by federal officials to look out for terrorists practicing to carry explosive components onto aircraft …

CU regents fire Ward Churchill  —  BOULDER — The University of Colorado's Board of Regents today fired professor Ward Churchill, 2 1/2 years after his comments about the victims of the 9/11 attacks sparked a firestorm.  —  The regents, in an 8-1 vote, said Churchill committed academic misconduct.

Terror Whistleblower Aid Advances on Capitol Hill  —  WASHINGTON — A provision aimed at providing whistleblower protection to Americans who report suspicious activity has advanced on Capitol Hill despite opposition from some Democrats, as top Republicans announced an agreement last night.

Bush and Iraqi: Frequent Talks, Limited Results  —  Once every two weeks, sometimes more often, President Bush gathers with the vice president and the national security adviser in the newly refurbished White House Situation Room and peers, electronically, into the eyes of the man to whom …

On patrol with Iran's fashion police  —  It all starts with one simple sentence, spoken almost in a whisper, but which has a thunderous effect.  —  A female police officer deployed in Tehran's latest moral crackdown tells a woman that her manto (overcoat) is too short and infringes Iranian Islamic dress rules.

Few Muslims 'back suicide bombs'  —  Support for suicide bombings against civilians has fallen sharply across the Muslim world since 2002, a major survey has suggested.  —  However, 70% of Palestinians interviewed said they believed such attacks were sometimes justifiable.

Specter to probe Supreme Court decisions  —  Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) plans to review the Senate testimony of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel J. Alito to determine if their reversal of several long-standing opinions conflicts with promises they made to senators to win confirmation.

Lender Sees Mortgage Woes for 'Good' Risks  —  Countrywide Financial, the nation's largest mortgage lender, said yesterday that more borrowers with good credit were falling behind on their loans and that the housing market might not begin recovering until 2009 because of a decline in house prices …

President Links Qaeda of Iraq to Qaeda of 9/11  —  President Bush sought anew on Tuesday to draw connections between the Iraqi group Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and the terrorist network responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks, and he sharply criticized those who contend that the groups are independent of each other.

How One Journalist Defines a 'Staunch Republican'  —  Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:  —  Republican Defector?  —  Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jennifer Hunter is taking heat for a recent story headlined "GOP Lawyer Sold on Dems."  She wrote that after watching …