Split threatens to rupture Republican ranks  —  Conservative vs. moderate divide plays out across the airwaves on Sunday  —  WASHINGTON - The conservative vs. moderate split threatening to rupture the Republican Party played out across the airwaves Sunday, with Colin Powell …

They May Not Want The Bomb  —  And other unexpected truths. … From the magazine issue dated Jun 1, 2009  —  Everything you know about Iran is wrong, or at least more complicated than you think.  Take the bomb.  The regime wants to be a nuclear power but could well be happy …

Durbin Calls On Gingrich To Apologize For Attacking The CIA In 2007  —  Last week, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich called on Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to resign her current position as Speaker.  He said that she “disqualified herself” over her comments that the CIA was “misleading” Congress.

STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING  —  Interview With Senators Boxer, Shelby; Interview With Tom Ridge  —  THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.  —  KING: I'm John King.  This is our “State of the Union” report for this Sunday, May 24th.

North Korea Claims to Conduct 2nd Nuclear Test  —  SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea announced on Monday it had successfully conducted its second nuclear test, defying international warnings and drastically raising the stakes in a global effort to get the recalcitrant Communist state to give up its nuclear weapons program.

The Writers Make News.  Unfortunately.  —  IT has been a busy week or two for the ethics police — those within The Times trying to protect the paper's integrity, and those outside, ready to pounce on transgressions by Times journalists.  —  Thomas Friedman, the star columnist …

Former Senior Interrogator in Iraq Dissects Cheney's Lies and Distortions  —  As a senior interrogator in Iraq (and a former criminal investigator), there was a lesson I learned that served me well: there's more to be learned from what someone doesn't say than from what they do say.

DE'TAT'CHED ATTITUDE  —  JOB SEEKERS ERASING BODY ART TO COMPETE  —  When the Dow is low, the “tramp stamp” has to go.  —  Dermatologists across the city are reporting a boom in tattoo laser removals, as body-art fanatics fretting over their professional image rush to erase their inky mistakes.

PM: No new West Bank settlements  —  Article's topics: Illegal Outposts, Avidgor Lieberman, Binyamin Netanyahu  —  Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the cabinet Sunday that he made clear in the US last week that although Israel is committed to removing illegal West Bank outposts …

SOLDIER OF THE FUTURE  —  HOW THE MILITARY IS PLANNING FOR THE WARS OF TOMORROW  —  It's the year 2030.  As a soldier enters a crowded marketplace, sensors mounted on his helmet automatically scan faces in the crowd, identifying a known insurgent; a cursor in the heads-up display highlights …

Pelosi, Like Clinton, Plays Down Human Rights Before China Trip  —  Speaker, as Clinton Has, Plays Down Topic; Focus Will Be Climate Talks  —  For the second time this year, a top U.S. official visiting China has declined in advance to publicly discuss Beijing's human rights record …