Nine killed, dozens hurt in Tel Aviv suicide bombing  —  A Palestinian suicide bomber killed nine people and wounded at least 40 others, six of them seriously, in an explosion near the old central bus station in southern Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon.  —  Two of the victims died after they had arrived at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

Anger at Bush May Hurt GOP At Polls  —  Intense and widespread opposition to President Bush is likely to be a sharp spur driving voters to the polls in this fall's midterm elections, according to strategists in both parties, a phenomenon that could give Democrats a turnout advantage over Republicans for the first time in recent years.

Congress Approval at 12-Year Low  —  Rating slipped four percentage points since March  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Public approval of the job Congress is doing has dipped to its lowest level of 2006, and is now the worst Gallup has recorded since the closing days of the Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994.

Outrage at Funeral Protests Pushes Lawmakers to Act  —  Members of Westboro Baptist Church demonstrating in February in Anoka, Minn., near the funeral for Cpl. Andrew Kemple, who was killed in Iraq.  People opposed to the church's views carried flags nearby.

No Hint Seen in Memo that Plame's Role Was Secret  —  Contrary to published reports, a State Department memorandum at the center of the investigation into the leak of the name of a CIA operative, Valerie Plame, appears to offer no particular indication that Ms. Plame's role at the agency was classified or covert.

Blame Builds More Barriers in Immigration Debate  —  Does chutzpah translate into Spanish?  —  It's a reasonable question after the joint statement House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) issued last week about the impasse blocking congressional action …

Demonstrations on Immigration Harden a Divide  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 14 — Al and Diane Kitlica have not paid close attention to the immigration debate in Congress.  But when more than 100,000 mostly Hispanic demonstrators marched through Phoenix this week, the Kitlicas noticed.

No One Is That Crazy.  Right?  Ummm...right?  —  One thing that strikes me as funny about this whole "let's invade Iran" thing...wait, did I actually just type that?  I'm looking at the desk and I don't see any glass tube with burnt-up brillo pad in it, so I probably didn't just smoke a glittering rock of yeyo.

'Roe v. Wade': The divided states of America  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two hours after South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed an abortion ban last month, NARAL Pro-Choice America blasted an e-mail to its supporters: "Is your state next?"  —  The South Dakota legislation and the abortion rights group's warning …

America's 10 Best Senators  —  Those who make a difference in the U.S. Senate — and five Senators who are falling short  —  By law, just about anyone can be a U.S. Senator.  The Constitution requires only that you have reached your 30th birthday, reside in the state you represent and have held American citizenship for nine years.

Post ombudsman defended editorial's falsehoods as a difference in "views" … In an April 16 column purportedly explaining the inconsistencies between The Washington Post's April 9 editorial titled "A Good Leak" and an article published the same day by staff writers Barton Gellman and Dafna Linzer …

New Worry Rises After Iran Claims Nuclear Steps  —  Of all the claims that Iran made last week about its nuclear program, a one-sentence assertion by its president has provoked such surprise and concern among international nuclear inspectors they are planning to confront Tehran about it this week.

Reporters In Glass Houses  —  From Washington, Page Six Is Just a Stone's Throw Away  —  They traffic in whispered gossip, charming the big shots, working the party circuit.  They gravitate toward boldface names who make good copy.  They reward sources who cooperate and can be rougher on those who don't play the game.

Neil Young sets his sights on Bush  —  He is country rock's biggest icon, and he is angry.  Recorded in secret, his forthcoming album savages the war in Iraq.  One track says it all: 'Impeach the President'  —  It started as a rumour - gossip shared by fans on internet chat sites.

Bush's new chief of staff invites aides to leave before shake-up  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Signaling a possible shake-up among President Bush's senior advisers, the new White House chief of staff told top presidential aides Monday to expect changes that "refresh and re-energize the team."