Justices, 5-4, Limit Whistleblower Suits  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it harder for government employees to file lawsuits claiming they were retaliated against for going public with allegations of official misconduct.  —  By a 5-4 vote, justices said the nation's 20 …

Gore: Bush is 'renegade rightwing extremist'  —  Al Gore has made his sharpest attack yet on the George Bush presidency, describing the current US administration as "a renegade band of rightwing extremists".  —  In an interview with the Guardian today, the former vice-president calls himself a …

Bush Selects Goldman Chief to Take Over Treasury Dept.  —  WASHINGTON, May 30 — President Bush today nominated Henry M. Paulson Jr., the chairman of one of Wall Street's biggest firms, to become his next Treasury secretary and what Mr. Bush described as "my principle economic adviser."

Senate's top Democrat took free boxing tickets  —  Experts say Reid pushed ethics envelope  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, who has criticized Republican ethics, accepted free ringside tickets to three professional boxing matches from Nevada officials who were trying …

Pedophiles to launch political party  —  AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch pedophiles are launching a political party to push for a cut in the legal age for sexual relations to 12 from 16 and the legalization of child pornography and sex with animals, sparking widespread outrage.

A Build-a-Protest Approach to Immigration  —  WASHINGTON, May 30 — Talk about constructive criticism.  —  Advocates of tougher border security have sent thousands of bricks to Senate and House offices in recent weeks to make a none-too-subtle point with lawmakers about where many of their constituents come …

German Women Vowed to Mount Suicide Attacks in Iraq  —  German authorities may have thwarted suicide bomb attacks in Iraq by German women.  According to intelligence sources, three women were prevented from travelling to Iraq after one of them had announced she planned to blow herself up in Iraq.

The Purpose Driven Life Takers  —  Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life.  You are issued high-tech military weaponry …

Is Ahmadinejad Giving Germany's Far-Right Free Propaganda?  —  Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has continued his ranting about whether the Holocaust happened, this time in an interview with SPIEGEL magazine.  Also, Friday's Berlin stabbing spree is a reminder to World Cup visitors …

Is the tide finally turning in Mexico?  —  Funny thing about Mexican President Vicente Fox's visit to the American West last week: It didn't turn out as one would have expected.  —  The tall, lanky, laconic "presidente," who seemed to offer such hope to Mexico when he was elected five years ago …

A reporter's shock at the Haditha allegations  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — It actually took me a while to put all the pieces together — that I know these guys, the U.S. Marines at the heart of the alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians in Haditha.  —  I don't know why it didn't register with me until now.

Well-Intentioned Food Police May Create Havoc With Children's Diets  —  Earlier this year, our small Midwestern school district joined the food wars, proposing a new policy that would discourage all food in classrooms, ban nuts and sugary foods and do away with vending machines.

"We Are Determined"  —  SPIEGEL: Mr. President, you are a soccer fan and you like to play soccer.  Will you be sitting in the stadium in Nuremberg on June 11, when the Iranian national team plays against Mexico in Germany?  —  Ahmadinejad: It depends.  Naturally, I'll be watching the game in any case.

Blowing Smoke About Tobacco  —  "Tobacco: deadly in any form or disguise" is the slogan of the World Health Organization's World No Tobacco Day tomorrow.  The claim is false: Tobacco is not deadly; the harm is in the smoke.  A policy that confuses innocuous tobacco with harmful smoke …

Greenpeace's fill-in-the-blank public relations meltdown  —  Before President Bush touched down in Pennsylvania Wednesday to promote his nuclear energy policy, the environmental group Greenpeace was mobilizing.  —  "This volatile and dangerous source of energy" is no answer to the country's energy needs …

Dems say oil execs, Bush Admin set to gain from estate tax repeal  —  Democrats have prepared for an upcoming Senate battle over repeal of the estate tax by releasing estimated savings the repeal could equal for oil executives and members of the Bush Administration, RAW STORY has learned.

Lecturers back boycott of Israeli academics  —  Britain's largest lecturers' union yesterday voted in favour of a boycott of Israeli lecturers and academic institutions who do not publicly dissociate themselves from Israel's "apartheid policies".  —  Delegates at the annual conference …

EU court annuls data deal with US  —  The European Court of Justice has annulled an EU-US agreement requiring airlines to transfer passenger data to the US authorities.  —  The court said the decision to hand over the data, including addresses and credit card details, lacked an "appropriate legal basis".

After Fence Assault, Anti-War Port Mob Eats Pepper Spray  —  Sadly, the young protesters had to dunk their heads in Puget Sound after their encounter with pepper spray.  —  Thurston County Sheriff's deputies holds protesters to the ground after clearing the entry to the Port of Olympia on Wednesday afternoon.