Iraq using 'treasure' of al-Zarqawi info  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's national security adviser said Thursday a "huge treasure" of documents and computer records was seized after the raid on terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's hideout, giving the Iraqi government the upper hand in its fight against al-Qaida in Iraq.

The Iraq war debate reopens in Washington  —  The US House is set to argue the future of the Iraq war - the No. 1 issue for voters - Thursday.  —  WASHINGTON - The No. 1 issue for American voters - the future of the Iraq war - moves to the fore this week, both among President Bush's wartime advisers and on the floor of Congress.

Bush Plans Vast Protected Sea Area in Hawaii  —  President Bush will create the world's largest protected marine area today, designating as a national monument a 1,200-mile-long chain of small Hawaiian islands and surrounding waters and reefs that are home to a spectacular array of sea life …

Judge Rules That U.S. Has Broad Powers to Detain Noncitizens Indefinitely  —  A federal judge in Brooklyn ruled yesterday that the government has wide latitude under immigration law to detain noncitizens on the basis of religion, race or national origin, and to hold them indefinitely without explanation.

Crisis Seen in Nation's ER Care  —  Emergency medical care in the United States is on the verge of collapse, with the nation's declining number of emergency rooms dangerously overcrowded and often unable to provide the expertise needed to treat seriously ill people in a safe and efficient manner.

The Democratic Incumbency Protection Racket  —  So Chuck Schumer, head of the [Democratic] Incumbent Senatorial Campaign Committee sees no problem in supporting a Holy Joe "Cut-and-Run 2006" independent candidacy over dedicated Democrat Ned Lamont.  According to Hotline:

Stopwatch Ticking for Dan Rather  —  CBS to Drop Ex-Anchor From '60 Minutes'  —  NEW YORK — CBS executives have decided there is no future role at the network for Dan Rather, making it certain that the man who sat in the anchor chair for 24 years will depart by this fall.

Overshadowed  —  For one brief, shining hour, Karl Rove was the lead story in America.  Okay, an hour and a half.  —  Then the White House disclosed that President Bush had stealthily arrived in Baghdad, and Rove's avoiding indictment in the Valerie Plame case was relegated to distinctly secondary status.

Bush Apologizes to L.A. Times Reporter  —  WASHINGTON — President Bush, who often teases members of the White House press corps, apologized Wednesday after he poked fun at a reporter for wearing sunglasses without realizing they were needed for vision loss.  —  The exchange occurred at a news conference in the Rose Garden.

What's Black and White and Red All Over?  —  More ink equals more blood, claim two economists who say that newspaper coverage of terrorist incidents leads directly to more attacks.  —  It's a macabre example of win-win in what economists call a "common-interest game," say Bruno S. Frey …