Democrats zero for 40 on Iraq  —  As the congressional session lurches toward a close, Democrats are confronting some demoralizing arithmetic on Iraq.  —  The numbers tell a story of political and substantive paralysis more starkly than most members are willing to acknowledge publicly, or perhaps even to themselves.

La. Pol's 'Buckwheat' Remark Sparks Ire  —  HOUMA, La. (AP) — A white state lawmaker in a runoff election called a black civil-rights veteran who had helped her campaign "Buckwheat," prompting the NAACP to urge voters to kick her out of office.  —  Rep. Carla Blanchard Dartez, a Democrat …

Edwards announces paid family leave plan  —  CONCORD, N.H. - When it comes to helping parents take time off from work, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards is raising the stakes.  —  The former North Carolina senator on Tuesday will propose spending $2 billion a year …

Student given question to ask Clinton: I just want honesty  —  GRINNELL, Iowa (CNN) — The college student who says she was told what question to ask at one of Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign events-and whose story in her campus newspaper has now made its way around the world-said Monday that …

'Hidden Costs' Double Price Of Two Wars, Democrats Say  —  The economic costs to the United States of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan so far total approximately $1.5 trillion, according to a new study by congressional Democrats that estimates the conflicts' "hidden costs"— including higher oil prices …

Court takes no action on gun case  —  The Supreme Court on Tuesday announced no action on a new case testing the meaning of the Second Amendment — an issue the Court has not considered in 68 years.  The Orders List contained no mention of either the District of Columbia's appeal (07-290) …

Voters dismiss 'piling on' charge  —  Most Americans reject the charge that other presidential candidates are "piling on" Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to a new Fox 5/The Washington Times/Rasmussen Reports poll.  —  Only 25 percent of voters said recent criticism …

Righting Reagan's Wrongs?  —  Let's set the record straight on Ronald Reagan's campaign kickoff in 1980.  —  Early one morning in the late spring of 1964, Dr. Carolyn Goodman, her husband, Robert, and their 17-year-old son, David, said goodbye to David's brother, Andrew, who was 20.

Gays should be hanged, says Iranian minister  —  Homosexuals deserve to be executed or tortured and possibly both, an Iranian leader told British MPs during a private meeting at a peace conference, The Times has learnt.  —  Mohsen Yahyavi is the highest-ranked politician to admit …

What Makes a Terrorist  —  It's not poverty and lack of education, according to economic research by Princeton's ALAN KRUEGER.  Look elsewhere.  —  In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, policymakers, scholars, and ordinary citizens asked a key question …

Panel May Cut Sentences For Crack  —  An independent panel is considering reducing the sentences of inmates incarcerated in federal prisons for crack cocaine offenses, which would make thousands of people immediately eligible to be freed.  —  The U.S. Sentencing Commission …

Military Reporter Recalls Bush's Objections To Iraq Invasion On A Previous Veteran's Day  —  NEW YORK Sig Christenson, a founding member of Military Reporters and Editors who has worked five assignments in Iraq since the war began, reached back some 10 years for a Veteran's Day piece …

Dems profit as 113 campaign donors near $108K cap  —  WASHINGTON — Dozens of donors are nearing the $108,200 cap on federal campaign contributions for the 2008 elections in a sign of the record-breaking cost of the White House race, an analysis conducted for USA TODAY shows.

More on Bernie and Rudy  —  Interesting comments from Rudy Giuliani to ABC News.  In an interview with ABC's Jake Tapper, who has a knack of getting people to say things that are more revealing than his subjects probably intend, Giuliani defended the performance of former NYPD commissioner Bernard Kerik.

Movin' On Up  —  A Treasury study refutes populist hokum about "income inequality."  —  If you've been listening to Mike Huckabee or John Edwards on the Presidential trail, you may have heard that the U.S. is becoming a nation of rising inequality and shrinking opportunity.