Clinton Widens Lead in Poll  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has consolidated her place as the front-runner in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination, outpacing her main rivals in fundraising in the most recent quarter and widening her lead in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Limbaugh Latest Victim in War of Condemnation  —  Having abandoned for now their effort to force President Bush to withdraw troops from Iraq, Democrats are not giving ground against a lesser nemesis: Rush Limbaugh.  —  With the help of liberal advocacy groups, the Democrats in Congress …

SCHIP slips as Dems trip over message  —  Democratic leaders on Tuesday moved quickly to shift public attention to President Bush's expected veto of a children's health insurance program from a surtax to pay for the war in Iraq.  —  Democrats had been reveling in their good fortune …

Pakistan Seen Losing Fight Against Taliban And Al-Qaeda  —  PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistan's government is losing its war against emboldened insurgent forces, giving al-Qaeda and the Taliban more territory in which to operate and allowing the groups to plot increasingly ambitious attacks …

From Errand to Fatal Shot to Hail of Fire to 17 Deaths  —  It started out as a family errand: Ahmed Haithem Ahmed was driving his mother, Mohassin, to pick up his father from the hospital where he worked as a pathologist.  As they approached Nisour Square at midday on Sept. 16 …

North Korea agrees to disable nuke plant  —  BEIJING - North Korea will provide a complete list of its nuclear programs and disable its facilities at its main reactor complex by Dec. 31, actions that will be overseen by a U.S.-led team, the six nations involved in disarmament talks said Wednesday.

Thompson exceeds (low) expectations  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — A politician can go a long way in this country by being underestimated.  —  Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger all benefited from low expectations.  —  And few serious presidential candidates have enjoyed lower expectations than Fred Thompson.

Iranian University Invites Bush to Speak  —  An Iranian university has invited U.S. President George W. Bush to speak about such issues as the Holocaust, terrorism and human rights.  —  Iran's Fars news agency reports Ferdowsi University in the northeastern city of Mashhad asked Mr. Bush …

Soldiers hunt dissidents in Myanmar  —  YANGON, Myanmar - Soldiers announced that they were hunting pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar's largest city Wednesday and the top U.S. diplomat in the country said military police were pulling people out of their homes during the night.