Dems can't make guarantee on Iraq troops  —  HANOVER, N.H. - The leading Democratic White House hopefuls conceded Wednesday night they cannot guarantee to pull all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of the next presidential term in 2013.  —  "I think it's hard to project four years from now …

Shootings by Blackwater Exceed Other Firms in Iraq  —  The American security contractor Blackwater USA has been involved in a far higher rate of shootings while guarding American diplomats in Iraq than other security firms providing similar services to the State Department …

Verizon Rejects Messages of Abortion Rights Group  —  Saying it had the right to block "controversial or unsavory" text messages, Verizon Wireless has rejected a request from Naral Pro-Choice America, the abortion rights group, to make Verizon's mobile network available for a text-message program.

2 Patriot Act Provisions Ruled Unlawful  —  PORTLAND, Ore. — Two provisions of the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional because they allow search warrants to be issued without a showing of probable cause, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.  —  U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled …

House Republicans in the Red, Numbers Show  —  Avni Patel Reports:  —  A crucial GOP fundraising committee is nearly broke, according to its latest monthly filing with the Federal Election Committee last week.  —  The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) …

Gorbachev warns Russians against rise of Stalinism  —  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev warned Russians on Wednesday of the risk of a rebirth of Stalinism, saying their country was in danger of forgetting its tragic past.  —  "We should remember those who suffered …

"Childrens do learn," Bush tells school kids  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Offering a grammar lesson guaranteed to make any English teacher cringe, President George W. Bush told a group of New York school kids on Wednesday: "Childrens do learn."  —  Bush made his latest grammatical slip …

Blowing smoke  —  Okay, Muslim foot-baths in Kansas City airport, gender-segregated swimming sessions at French municipal pools, banning pork from Aussie hospital menus, no eating donuts for Belgian cops during Ramadan, no seeing-eye dogs or alcohol in Minneapolis taxi cabs, fine, fine, fine.

Plan Uses Taxes to Fight Climate Change  —  WASHINGTON — Dealing with global warming will be painful, says one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress.  To back up his claim he is proposing a recipe many people won't like _ a 50-cent gasoline tax, a carbon tax and scaling back tax breaks for some home owners.

'A Coup Has Occurred'  —  September 26, 2007 (Text of a speech delivered September 20, 2007)  —  Below is an edited transcript of Ellsberg's remarkable speech:  —  I think nothing has higher priority than averting an attack on Iran, which I think will be accompanied by a further change …

House Condemns MoveOn.org Attack  —  The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to condemn the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org for a recent advertisement attacking the top U.S. general in Iraq.  —  By a 341-79 vote, the House passed a resolution praising the patriotism Gen. David Petraeus …

US First Lady Appeals to Burmese Junta: 'Don't Fire on Your People'  —  U.S. first lady Laura Bush is urging the Burmese military government to show restraint and refrain from further violence against pro-democracy protesters.  In an interview with White House correspondent Paula Wolfson …

House Passes a Stopgap Bill to Pay for Programs  —  Deferring a showdown with President Bush, the House on Wednesday approved a stopgap spending bill to finance the operations of the federal government, including the State Children's Health Insurance Program, through mid-November.