Bill Frist threatens to re-structure the Intelligence Committee in order to block NSA hearings  —  (updated below - updated again)  —  The Senate Intelligence Committee was created in 1976 and, from the beginning, it has been unique in its structure and operation.

Blair under fire for evoking God in Iraq war decision  —  LONDON (AFP) - Tony Blair triggered strong reactions from parents of soldiers killed in Iraq and the political opposition, after the British prime minister evoked God in his decision to go to war.  —  Details emerged Friday …

Bush Says Pakistan Cannot Expect Nuclear Deal Like One With India  —  ISLAMABAD, March 4 — President Bush made clear today that Pakistan should not expect anytime soon a civilian nuclear agreement like the one the United States reached only days ago with India, and he bluntly …

Aide's role in mosque deal eyed  —  BRA official raised funds, priced land  —  A top Boston Redevelopment Authority official who previously downplayed his role in the Roxbury mosque project of the Islamic Society of Boston assisted in the city's reduction of the price the mosque backers paid …

Pomp and punch-ups in Belarus  —  Being in Minsk this week is like being back in the USSR.  —  At the giant Palace of the Republic, 2,500 delegates are attending a lavish Soviet-style congress.  —  Among them are tractor drivers and priests, factory directors and soldiers.

E-mails undermine Reed claim  —  Ralph Reed has said he didn't know it until last year, but emails suggest he was informed that eLot — a firm then in the online lottery business — was behind his effort to fend off a ban against internet gambling in 2000.  —  The e-mails passed between Reed …

Caught on Tape  —  ON THE DAY before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, federal emergency officials warned President Bush that the hurricane could be "the big one," the storm the region had long feared; that the Superdome, the shelter of last resort in New Orleans, was below sea level …

Bush Plan Would Raise Deficit by $1.2 Trillion, Budget Office Says  —  WASHINGTON, March 3 — President Bush's budget would increase the federal deficit by $35 billion this year and by more than $1.2 trillion over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office reported on Friday.

U.S. commander says Iraqi 'crisis has passed'  —  The top U.S. commander in Iraq yesterday declared an end to a 10-day wave of sectarian violence that killed an estimated 350 civilians, asserting that many reports of violence were "exaggerated."  —  "It appears that the crisis has passed …

Chavez prepares his people's army to confront US  —  Venezuela begins training a vast army of civilian reserves today to fight off the attack its Left-wing president, Hugo Chavez, says the United States is plotting against it.  —  The oil-rich state aims to teach up to two million volunteers …

THE AP CLARIFIES WHAT THE AP MUDDIED  —  Lord help those who rely for their news on the mainstream media and their inferior imitators around the country.  A mere two days after its outrageously misleading reporting on the warnings given to President Bush before Hurricane Katrina hit, the AP has issued this:

'Multiple Briefings'  —  The White House and Homeland Security Department urged the public Wednesday not to read too much into the video footage.  —  "I hope people don't draw conclusions from the president getting a single briefing," presidential spokesman Trent Duffy said …

Calling All Hombres  —  A Harvard sage makes the case for manliness.  —  CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—"Defend yourself."  That's the lesson Harvey Mansfield drew for Larry Summers the week before Harvard's president was forced to resign.  Mr. Mansfield, a 73-year-old government professor …