Iranian general played key role in brokering Iraq cease-fire  —  BAGHDAD — Iraqi lawmakers traveled to the Iranian holy city of Qom over the weekend to win the support of the commander of Iran's Qods brigades in persuading Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr to order his followers to stop military operations …

Obama had greater role on liberal survey  —  During his first run for elected office, Barack Obama played a greater role than his aides now acknowledge in crafting liberal stands on gun control, the death penalty and abortion- positions that appear at odds with the more moderate image he's projected during his presidential campaign.

New Backing for Obama As Party Seeks Unity  —  WASHINGTON — Slowly but steadily, a string of Democratic Party figures is taking Barack Obama's side in the presidential nominating race and raising the pressure on Hillary Clinton to give up.  —  Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is expected …

HUD Secretary Expected to Quit  —  WASHINGTON — Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson is expected to announce his resignation Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, a decision that will deal a blow to the Bush administration's efforts to tackle the housing crisis.

Gore launches $300 million campaign  —  Former Vice President Al Gore is launching a $300 million, bipartisan campaign to try to push climate change higher on the nation's political agenda.  —  The three-year campaign by the Alliance for Climate Protection will begin Wednesday …

Superdelegates: A guide to the undecided  —  In a Democratic nominating contest that could ultimately be decided by their votes, divining the intentions of the 794 Democratic superdelegates has become something of a Washington parlor game.  —  By nearly all counts — generally measured …

The Dilbert Strategy  —  Anyone who has worked in a large organization — or, for that matter, reads the comic strip “Dilbert” — is familiar with the “org chart” strategy.  To hide their lack of any actual ideas about what to do, managers sometimes make a big show of rearranging the boxes and lines that say who reports to whom.

FROM BAD TO VERSE FOR HILL  —  AIRPORT'S GIRL POET STUNNED BY SNIPER TALE AS INSULTED FELLOW BOSNIANS RIP ‘LOW BLOW’ LIE  —  SARAJEVO, Bosnia - The Bosnian girl who famously read a poem to Hillary Rodham Clinton during her 1996 visit to the war-torn country is shocked - and her countrymen infuriated …

There's nothing funny about prison rape  —  Smirking at sexual attacks on inmates makes us all less safe.  —  'From the studio that brought you ‘Brokeback Mountain,’ " intones the preview for the light comedy “Let's Go To Prison,” “comes a penetrating look at the American penal system.

Blogger outreach boosts McCain  —  Even as talk radio was brutalizing Sen. John McCain in the Republican presidential primaries, conservative bloggers reached a respectful truce with the Arizona senator over touchy issues and gave him what the campaign called a “tremendous positive psychological” boost.

Steps that can safeguard America's economy  —  Neither US financial institutions nor the economy are likely to suffer from a lack of central bank liquidity provision.  New lending facilities are coming along almost weekly, the safety net has been expanded to include non-bank primary dealers …

Bush booed loudly while throwing out first pitch in Nationals home opener.  —  President Bush delivered the first pitch tonight at the new Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. to a resounding chorus of boos.  After being announced, Bush was showered by boos as he strode to the mound.

Remains of Soldier Missing Since '04 Are Found in Iraq  —  BATAVIA, Ohio (AP) — The father of a soldier listed as missing-captured in Iraq since 2004 said Sunday that the military had informed him that his son's remains were found in Iraq.  —  The man, Keith Maupin, said at a news conference …