Clinton mocks Obama's childhood experience  —  SHENANDOAH, Iowa — Hillary Rodham Clinton ridiculed Democratic rival Barack Obama on Tuesday for his contention that living in a foreign country as a child helped give him a better understanding of the foreign policy challenges facing the U.S.

A Scientific Advance, a Political Question Mark  —  The discovery that it is possible to create equivalents to embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos has the potential to reshape — and perhaps defuse — the acrimonious political debate that has raged ever since human embryonic stem cells were discovered in 1998.

Rivals Not Able to Confront Key Challenges, McCain Says  —  Sen. John McCain said his rivals for the White House are unprepared to serve as president during a period of enormous challenge for America, casting himself as the only candidate from either party capable of confronting …

Bush More Emphatic In Backing Musharraf  —  President Bush yesterday offered his strongest support of embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, saying the general "hasn't crossed the line" and "truly is somebody who believes in democracy."

Imams' suit wins a round in court  —  A judge rejected the defendants' arguments to dismiss the suit filed by six imams removed from a U.S. Airways flight.  —  Six Muslim imams arrested on a U.S. Airways jet in Minneapolis last November after a passenger raised suspicions about their pre-flight prayers …

LAWYERS, GUNS & WASHINGTON  —  DC GUN BAN A TOUGH TEST FOR COURT  —  BY deciding yesterday to hear the District of Columbia's appeal of the federal court ruling that overturned DC's gun ban, the Supreme Court has ensured that gun control and gun rights will play a major role in the coming election …

CAIR seeks removal of label in terrorism case  —  The Council on American-Islamic Relations is seeking help from House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. to pressure the Justice Department to change the group's status as a co-conspirator in a terrorism case.

G.O.P. Rivals Trade Charges on Illegal Immigration  —  The back and forth between Mitt Romney's and Rudolph W. Giuliani's presidential campaigns over illegal immigration continued yesterday, with each side impugning the other's record on the issue.  —  Mr. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts …

Yesterday's Brouhaha...  Related to yesterday's brouhaha over my article suggesting a connection between last week's anti-Mormon phone calls and the Romney campaign's pollsters, I would have responded sooner but I was waiting to speak with TargetPoint.  I had a few specific questions:

For Edwards, a Relationship That Never Quite Fit  —  John Edwards, accepting his party's nomination for vice president, roused a cheering crowd at the 2004 Democratic convention with the kind of buoyant refrain that had become his trademark: "Hope is on the way."

Krugman vs. Krugman  —  In liberal Democratic circles, the debate over Social Security has taken a dangerous "don't worry, be happy" turn.  —  The argument has two equally dishonest components.  The first is to deny that Social Security faces a daunting financing problem …

Censure of Sen. Feinstein fails: Party staffer Bob Mullholland calls bloggers and activists "worse than Bush" and "pre-nursing home"  —  Guest Post by Julia Rosen.  Julia is the Online Political Director for the Courage Campaign.  She is also an editor at Calitics.

Road From Damascus  —  Iraqis are voting with their feet by returning home after exile  —  The figures are hard to estimate precisely but the process could involve hundreds of thousands of people.  The numbers are certainly large enough, as we report today, for a mass convoy to be planned next week …