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.

Congress Approval Rating Matches Historical Low  —  Just 18% approve of job Congress is doing  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Poll finds Congress' approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974.

Cheney's Office Says It Has Wiretap Documents  —  Vice President Cheney's office acknowledged for the first time yesterday that it has dozens of documents related to the administration's warrantless surveillance program, but it signaled that it will resist efforts by congressional Democrats to obtain them.

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 …

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 …

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.

Michigan set to send slate of primaries into revision  —  N.H. mulls way to remain first  —  Michigan appears poised to crash the party of early states seeking to influence the 2008 presidential nominating process, leapfrogging the other interlopers, Florida and South Carolina, and further scrambling the electoral calendar.

Our main goal: Freedom in Cuba  —  When my father was a young man living in Kenya, the freedom and opportunity of the United States exerted such a powerful draw that he moved halfway around the world to pursue his dreams here.  My father's story is not unique.

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* …

Federal mine safety official's credentials questioned  —  SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - The families of the Crandall Canyon miner's aren't the only ones raising questions about the handling of the rescue effort.  —  Many news organizations and blogs are also now asking questions …

Make Up Your Own Mine  —  An impoverished town strikes gold.  George Soros and foreign environmentalists say, leave it in the ground.  —  The recent tragedy in Utah has brightened the spotlight on mining, already under assault by environmental and anti-globalization activists world-wide.

Wilkes gets use of attorney for the indigent at trial  —  DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO - Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes, charged with fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in government contracts, will have an attorney paid for by taxpayers.  —  U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns …

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 …