An Early Clash Over Iraq Report  —  Senior congressional aides said yesterday that the White House has proposed limiting the much-anticipated appearance on Capitol Hill next month of Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker to a private congressional briefing …

Dutch bishop: Call God 'Allah' to ease relations  —  Roman Catholic leader stokes already heated debate on religion  —  AMSTERDAM - A Roman Catholic Bishop in the Netherlands has proposed people of all faiths refer to God as Allah to foster understanding, stoking an already heated debate …

Unknown noises from mine shift drilling plan  —  HUNTINGTON, Utah (CNN) — Rescue workers said they detected a noise Wednesday night — though it's unclear what it was — deep inside the Utah mine where six men have been trapped for nine days.  —  "We saw some indication of noise for a period …

Earthquake in Peru Kills Hundreds  —  A powerful earthquake shook Peru Wednesday night, killing at least 337 people, Civil Defense authorities said today.  More than 800 people are believed to have been injured.  —  Most of the reported dead were in the region near Ica, south of the capital …

REGION  —  Dubai: Under pressure from the Congress, Arab states and Sunni Iraqi leaders, the US administration on Tuesday set the stage for "major" political changes in Iraq.  —  The changes will be in "the structure, nature and direction of the Iraqi state," a senior American official in Baghdad was quoted by AP as saying.

Judges Skeptical of State-Secrets Claim  —  Lawyers for the Bush administration encountered a federal appeals court Wednesday that appeared deeply skeptical of a blanket claim that the government's surveillance efforts cannot be challenged in court because the litigation might reveal state secrets.

Fred Thompson's Gamble  —  When Fred Thompson makes his long-delayed entrance into the Republican presidential race, he will not tiptoe quietly.  Instead, he will try to shake up the establishment candidates of both parties by depicting a nation in peril from fiscal and security threats …

The Death of Diversity  —  People in ethnically diverse settings don't care about each other.  —  Diversity was once just another word.  Now it's a fighting word.  One of the biggest problems with diversity is that it won't let you alone.  Corporations everywhere have force-marched middle managers …

Rush Interviews Karl Rove  —  BEGIN TRANSCRIPT  —  RUSH: I would like to introduce you all to Karl Rove.  Karl, welcome to the EIB Network.  I cannot tell you how great it is finally to have you here with us.  —  KARL ROVE: Well, thanks, Rush.  I'm honored you'd ask me and delighted to be with you.

The Debates Are Killing Edwards & Obama  —  Conventional wisdom says that, in the presidential-nomination process, debates help everyone but the front-runner in the polls, because they give the pack exposure and face time next to the leader.  But so far in Campaign 2008, the opposite has been true.

KILLING FOR CONGRESS  —  TWO days ago, al Qaeda det onated four massive truck bombs in three Iraqi vil lages, killing at least 250 civilians (perhaps as many as 500) and wounding many more.  The bombings were a sign of al Qaeda's frustration, desperation and fear.

Patriotic parents needed to reignite Ruskie baby boom  —  MOSCOW - This would make a heck of a reality TV show.  —  The baby-poor Russian region of Ulyanovsk wants to its people to procreate, and has come up with a holiday and prizes to encourage them to their duty for Mother Russia.

Reign of Error  —  THE AVERAGE NEWSPAPER CORRECTS VERY FEW OF ITS FACTUAL ERRORS, SAYS PROFESSOR.  —  The average newspaper should expand by a factor of 50 the amount of space given to corrections if Scott R. Maier's research is any guide.  —  Maier, an associate professor at the University …

Army Suicides Highest in 26 Years  —  WASHINGTON — Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report.  —  The report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead …

Seattle Times editor elaborates on cheering item  —  My Raves admonition on politically based cheering in the newsroom has ignited the predictable flame-throwing in the blogosphere, particularly from the portside.  Allow me to riff a bit further on that, and on my reasoning.

FBI probes contracts to company with ties to Stevens  —  WASHINGTON — The FBI is investigating the National Science Foundation's award of $170 million in contracts to the oil field services company that oversaw renovations on U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' home, McClatchy Newspapers has learned.

Blogger gets hot and bothered over Nasa's climate data error  —  An amateur meteorologist in Canada has embarrassed Nasa scientists into admitting that some of the data they used to show significant recent increases in global warming is flawed.  —  As a result of Stephen McIntyre's calculations …