Next step for immigration  —  THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS ago, I first arrived in America owning nothing but a dream.  —  I had few friends, little money and knew even less English.  But of this I was certain: Here was a land where I could go as far and as fast as my dreams and my desire would take me.

FISA judges say Bush within law  —  A panel of former Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judges yesterday told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that President Bush did not act illegally when he created by executive order a wiretapping program conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA).

Bush blames Iraq's instability on Hussein  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush said Wednesday that Saddam Hussein, not continued U.S. involvement in Iraq, is responsible for ongoing sectarian violence that is threatening the formation of a democratic government.

Abramoff Gets Minimum Sentence  —  Former Lobbyist to Spend 5 Years, 10 Months in Prison  —  MIAMI, March 29 — Jack A. Abramoff, the once-powerful Republican lobbyist at the center of a major corruption scandal, was sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in prison for his role …

Kaloogian: I'm Sorry, Photo Was a Mistake  —  "I just returned from a 10-day trip to Iraq," begins GOP candidate Howard Kaloogian's Web essay on his experiences visiting troops in the country.  The page, part of his campaign Web site, includes photographs and captions which illustrate his point …

McKinney Allegedly Punches Cop  —  According to sources on Capitol Hill, U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) punched a Capitol police officer on Wednesday afternoon after he mistakenly pursued her for failing to pass through a metal detector.  —  Members of Congress are not required to pass through metal detectors.

Afghan Christian Given Asylum in Italy  —  ROME - The Afghan man who faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity received asylum in Italy Wednesday, despite requests by lawmakers in Afghanistan that he be barred from fleeing the conservative Muslim country.

'The Last Helicopter'  —  Mideast dictators try to "wait Bush out."  They may be miscalculating.  —  Hassan Abbasi has a dream—a helicopter doing an arabesque in cloudy skies to avoid being shot at from the ground.  On board are the last of the "fleeing Americans," forced out of the Dar al-Islam …

'War' on Christians Is Alleged  —  Conference Depicts a Culture Hostile to Evangelical Beliefs  —  The "War on Christmas" has morphed into a "War on Christians."  —  Last December, some evangelical Christian groups declared that the religious celebration of Christmas — and even the phrase …

McCain Woos the Right, Makes Peace With Falwell  —  Possible 2008 Presidential Contender Makes Inroads With GOP Base  —  March 28, 2006 — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., still breaks from GOP orthodoxy on such issues as torture and immigration.  But operating below the radar …

Scalia: Reporter misread hand gesture  —  Justice blames 'too many episodes of 'The Sopranos''  —  BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in a scathing letter to the editor of the Boston Herald, accused the newspaper's staff of watching "too many episodes of 'The Sopranos'" …

Making Promises You Can't Keep  —  Why is it that politicians who are desperate to regain power, who don't have a focused message, and whose party has no unified platform, retreat to the promiseland to invest in commitments they can't keep?  —  Politicians of all stripes make this mistake.