Medicare Audits Show Problems in Private Plans  —  Tens of thousands of Medicare recipients have been victims of deceptive sales tactics and had claims improperly denied by private insurers that run the system's huge new drug benefit program and offer other private insurance options encouraged …

Iraq Embassy Cost Rises $144 Million Amid Project Delays  —  Planning, Workmanship Cited as Problems  —  The massive U.S. embassy under construction in Baghdad could cost $144 million more than projected and will open months behind schedule because of poor planning, shoddy workmanship …

On Torture and American Values  —  Once upon a time, it was the United States that urged all nations to obey the letter and the spirit of international treaties and protect human rights and liberties.  American leaders denounced secret prisons where people were held without charges, tortured and killed.

Why Is This GOP Strategist Smiling?  —  The day had been full of ominous warnings.  Polls showed the Republicans on the losing side of almost every issue and the 2008 presidential race — and now they're forced to defend a controversial veto of a popular children's health bill.

The snidely liberals won't watch your back  —  When Salman Rushdie was under threat, following the publication of Satanic Verses, the UK government moved to provide him protection - despite his habit of making critical comments about the UK.  Not everyone was so keen about Salman though.

The New York Times Mourns the Loss of Their "Defining Atrocity"  —  The New York Times can't be satisfied with some insignificant Al-Qaeda atrocity.  —  It must be an atrocity committed by the Americans.  —  And, they lost it this week in Haditha.  —  The Haditha Marines  —  The New York Times

An Exit Toward Soul-Searching  —  As Bush Staffers Leave, Questions About Legacy Abound  —  It had been four days since Meghan O'Sullivan left her job at the White House.  Just four days since she gave up her Secret Service pass, her classified hard drive and her entree to the president.

Romney leads GOP, Thompson moves into second  —  Mitt Romney still leads in Iowa but Fred Thompson, a relative newcomer to the presidential race, has emerged as his nearest competitor in a new Des Moines Register poll of likely Republican caucus participants.

I Did Do It  —  O.K., folks, you want the truth?  —  The whole truth and nothing but?  —  After all this time, you're still dying to see the mystery solved?  —  Fine.  I did it.  Everything A. said — let's just use the initial because it's still hard for me to speak the name of my victim and tormentor — was true.

Immigration arrests spark controversy from coast to coast  —  GARDEN CITY.  N.Y. - Long Island officials complained loudly this week about a series of immigration raids, accusing federal agents of a "cowboy mentality" that could have put local police in harm's way.

Virginia congresswoman dies  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Davis, R-Va., died Saturday after battling breast cancer, according to a statement released by her office.  She was 57.  —  Davis died at her Gloucester, Va., home.  She was first diagnosed with cancer in 2005 …

CIA Quieting Down After Years of Turmoil, But Memories Linger On  —  The CIA is a relatively calm place these days, with its senior officials concentrating more on nailing foreign targets than each other.  —  That's a nice change from the short, tumultuous era of Porter J. Goss …

Rape Epidemic Raises Trauma of Congo War  —  BUKAVU, Congo — Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist, cannot bear to listen to the stories his patients tell him anymore.  —  Every day, 10 new women and girls who have been raped show up at his hospital.  Many have been so sadistically attacked …

Mother Teresa and the Kidney Stone  —  This week the Catholic News Service reported that the cause for the canonization of Mother Teresa could "cross its last hurdle" if the Vatican validated a cure reported by a priest in Guwahati, India on Sept. 5, the 10th anniversary of the beloved nun's death.

5 Myths About Sick Old Europe  —  In the global economy, today's winners can become tomorrow's losers in a twinkling, and vice versa.  Not so long ago, American pundits and economic analysts were snidely touting U.S. economic superiority to the "sick old man" of Europe.  What a difference a few months can make.

BLACKWATERGATE LINKED TO HILL  —  CAMPAIGN BIG'S FIRM PROVIDED P.R.  —  The company run by one of Hillary Clinton's top campaign officials has been providing public-relations services for Blackwater - the security firm, accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians, that has come under fire from Congress.