Hopes Dim in Minneapolis for Survivors  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Divers searched the Mississippi River for bodies Thursday among the submerged cars and twisted steel left by deadly interstate bridge collapse, their hopes of finding survivors having dimmed.  —  "This is not a rescue operation any longer …

Obama says use of nuclear weapons to fight al-Qaida 'not on the table,'  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Thursday he would not use nuclear weapons «in any circumstance.  —  «I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons …

Edwards assails rivals over News Corp.  —  WASHINGTON - John Edwards criticized Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday for taking more than $20,000 in donations from News Corp. officials, arguing that the company's Fox News Channel has a right-wing bias and Democrats should avoid the company.

Judge's ruling spurs scramble for spy powers  —  A federal judge's secret ruling restricting the intelligence community's surveillance powers helped spur a Capitol Hill bid to grant Bush new authority.  —  A secret ruling by a federal judge has restricted the U.S. intelligence community's surveillance …

D.C. elites want you to shush on Iraq  —  Be afraid when the same centrist consensus that has a lousy track record on the war lashes out at partisans.  —  By By Matthew Yglesias  —  The united states is now well into the fifth year of a war in Iraq that has, at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars …

With Rove Absent, Aide Is Grilled by Senate Panel  —  The Senate Judiciary Committee grilled a young political aide from the White House today about the firings of nine United States attorneys and voiced disdain for a man who was not there: the aide's boss, Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser.

Students must remember 'God' in Texas pledge  —  Texas students will have four more words to remember when they head back to class this month and begin reciting the state's pledge of allegiance.  —  This year's Legislature added the phrase "one state under God" to the pledge …

Caps on Prices Only Deepen Zimbabweans' Misery  —  The government of Zimbabwe tried to allay the effects of inflation by setting prices, but as a result, basic goods cost too much to produce, leaving shelves empty.  Instead, families are relying on melons and what little meat can be shared.

Minister In Skirt Charged With Indecent Exposure  —  Police Say Man Urinated In Front Of Kids, Offered Oral Sex To Cops  —  JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — A Baptist minister has been charged in Tennessee with indecent exposure and driving under the influence.  —  Police said 58-year-old Tommy Tester …

Thompson's Top Adviser  —  Speaking at his $1,000-a-ticket fundraiser at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in downtown Washington on Monday night, Fred Thompson began by introducing "my campaign manager — oh, I mean my wife."  That little joke about Jeri Thompson reveals how the prospective Republican …

Edwards: "Giuliani is Bush on Steroids"  —  Just got back from an Edwards event in San Francisco.  He threw out a lot of red meat — in particular savaging the big oil, drug, and insurance companies — and these deep blue Americans loved every minute of it.  —  Edwards is awesome on the stump.

Bush Insults BBC Political Editor at Press Conference  —  NEW YORK At a recent press conference at Camp David, President George Bush insulted BBC political editor Nick Robinson, the Daily Mirror reports.  —  Robinson, who has asked Bush pointed questions in the past such as whetherthe president was …

President Bush Offers Sympathies and Assistance to Minneapolis and Calls on Congress to Act Before Recess  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.  I just finished a Cabinet meeting.  One of the things we discussed was the terrible situation there in Minneapolis.  We talked about the fact …

Gates Offers Blunt Assessment of Iraqi Political Progress  —  Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today that he was discouraged by the departure of the major Sunni Arab bloc from Iraq's coalition government, and noted that the Bush administration may have misjudged the difficulty …

Bush administration readying immigration crackdown on employers  —  WASHINGTON: Employers across the U.S. are preparing to fire workers with questionable Social Security government identification numbers to avoid getting snagged in a Bush administration crackdown on illegal immigrants.