White House Acts to Limit Health Plan for Children  —  The Bush administration, continuing its fight to stop states from expanding the popular Children's Health Insurance Program, has adopted new standards that would make it much more difficult for New York, California and others to extend coverage to children in middle-income families.

Senator Threatens to Charge White House With Contempt  —  A leading Democrat threatened on Monday to pursue contempt charges against the White House next month over its response to a subpoena for internal documents on the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program.

Senator Calls for Maliki's Ouster  —  Declaring the government of Iraq "non-functional," the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said yesterday that Iraq's parliament should oust Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his cabinet if they are unable to forge a political compromise …

Average Incomes Fell for Most in 2000-5  —  Americans earned a smaller average income in 2005 than in 2000, the fifth consecutive year that they had to make ends meet with less money than at the peak of the last economic expansion, new government data shows.

Clinton, McCain split on Iraq pullout  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - New military tactics in Iraq are working but the best way to honor U.S. soldiers is "by beginning to bring them home," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told war veterans Monday.  —  Clinton, seeking the Democratic nomination for president …

Hurricane Dean: 1 Of 10 Most Intense Atlantic Hurricanes Ever Measured  —  Early this morning Hurricane Dean, after mercilessly intensifying over deep warm waters in the western Caribbean, slammed the Yucatan Peninsula around Chetumal as a Category 5 hurricane with winds upwards of 165 miles per hour …

Party of Rage  —  Can't we all just get along? … OK.  Sounds like it could be pre-traumatic stress syndrome.  —  In other congressional violence: … And … Those are special cases.  The representative from Rhode Island may have encountered a security guard not up on his DYKWIA* …

Time right for Garofalo on "24"  —  LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The political left and the political right will join forces on Fox's "24" this coming season.  Janeane Garofalo, an outspoken liberal, is set to co-star on the conservative-leaning real-time drama, whose co-creator/executive …

Take Al Qaeda to Court  —  AS the need to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility becomes more urgent, the question that derails all conversation on the subject is, "Yes, but what do we do with the detainees?"  Some have proposed a new national-security court …

Misfire: AP's Bogus Ammo Shortage Story  —  An Associated Press report published late Friday afternoon stated that ammunition shortages in some law enforcement agencies around the nation were to be blamed on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: … The damning narrative was grasped quickly …

Immigration activist deported to Mexico  —  Elvira Arellano, detained in L.A., is seen as an icon of migrant rights by some and as a symbol of lawlessness by others.  —  U.S. immigration officials announced Monday that Elvira Arellano, an illegal immigrant who symbolized inhumane treatment …

Criticism of a Gender Theory, and a Scientist Under Siege  —  In academic feuds, as in war, there is no telling how far people will go once the shooting starts.  —  Earlier this month, members of the International Academy of Sex Research, gathering for their annual meeting in Vancouver …

Jane Fonda's Radio Network Tanks  —  The "feminist" radio company whose founders include Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem failed to attract an audience and it signed off the air for good on Friday.  —  When the talk-radio network, called GreenStone, officially launched in September 2006 …