Bush makes surprise visit to Iraq  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — President Bush greeted his war commanders with salutes Monday during a surprise visit to a U.S. air base in Iraq's Anbar province.  —  Air Force One touched down at Al Asad Air Base at 3:43 p.m. (7:43 a.m. EDT) under a blazing sun.

Strong words for America, stern warnings for Mexico  —  MEXICO CITY - Mexico's president drew a standing ovation from legislators as he chided Americans for new border fences and their "humiliating treatment" of illegal immigrants during his State of the Union speech on Sunday.

Edwards backs mandatory preventive care  —  TIPTON, Iowa - Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards said on Sunday that his universal health care proposal would require that Americans go to the doctor for preventive care.  —  "It requires that everybody be covered.

Chaos in Darfur on Rise as Arabs Fight With Arabs  —  Some of the same Arab tribes accused of massacring civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan are now unleashing their considerable firepower against one another in a battle over the spoils of war that is killing hundreds of people and displacing tens of thousands.

Report: U.S. workers are most productive  —  GENEVA - American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year.  —  They also get more done per hour than everyone …

WHAT EXIT?  FALLUJAH!  —  JERSEY MARINES DO U.S. PROUD  —  Jersey rules.  The Marines of 1st Platoon, Fox Company, 3rd Battal ion, 3rd Marines aren't living large, but they're making a huge difference.  Bunking in a police precinct headquarters in Fallujah, they're at the forward edge of our current successes in Iraq.

Soldiers evacuate babies from Israeli daycare centre as Islamic Jihad rockets fall  —  Soldiers scrambled to evacuate babies from a day care center in rocket-scarred Sderot today after a projectile fired by Palestinian militants thudded into the courtyard.  —  None of the 15 babies at the center was hurt.

The secular elite vs. the popular Islamists  —  Today's political challenge is to allow people to live according to their religion, while at the same time protecting those who are either irreligious or who have a different interpretation of the Koran  —  As a foreigner who is highly interested in …

Roberts Suggested Miers, Book Says  —  Author Delves Inside Bush Controversies  —  John G. Roberts Jr., now the chief justice of the United States, suggested Harriet Miers to President Bush as a possible Supreme Court justice, according to a new book on the Bush presidency.

[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: Snow Job in the Desert  —  It appears that many influential people in this country have learned nothing from the last five years.