A note to our readers  —  On May 11, USA TODAY reported that the National Security Agency, with the cooperation of several of America's leading telecommunications companies, had compiled a database of domestic phone call records in an effort to monitor terrorist activity.

Sulzberger Responds to 'WSJ' Editorial Slamming the 'NYT'  —  NEW YORK After remaining mum for the past week, even as controversy swirled around newspapers' revealing the banking records surveillance program, the Wall Street Journal editoral page weighed in today.

5 wrong justices  —  By putting on hold military commissions to try terrorists for war crimes, five Supreme Court justices have made the legal system part of the problem, rather than part of the solution to the challenges of the war on terrorism.  They tossed aside centuries of American history …

SIEGEL V. BASEBALL CAPS:  —  There are few places on earth, as far as I'm concerned, where the light, especially in late afternoon, in summer, is more beautiful than on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  It's a river light, soft and gently diffused.  It gets delicately soaked into the sides of buildings …

Superman eschews longtime patriot act  —  Nevermind Superman's sexual orientation.  Here's another identity-related question that is likely to spark controversy as the Man of Steel soars into theaters nationwide this Fourth of July weekend in Warner Bros.  Pictures' "Superman Returns": Is Superman still American?

Israeli Warplanes Buzz Syrian Palace, Aim To Save Soldier  —  CAIRO, Egypt - By dispatching two fighter jets yesterday to buzz the summer palace of President Assad, Israel sent a clear warning to Syria that it holds the Damascus regime responsible for the safe return of a kidnapped soldier and a settler.

Guardian finds Afghan witnesses US couldn't  —  Declan Walsh in Gardez  —  The US government said it could not find the men that Guantánamo detainee Abdullah Mujahid believes could help set him free.  The Guardian found them in three days.  —  Two years ago the US military invited Mr Mujahid …

Did Bush commit war crimes?  —  Supreme Court's decision in Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld could expose officials to prosecution.  —  THE SUPREME Court on Thursday dealt the Bush administration a stinging rebuke, declaring in Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld that military commissions for trying terrorist suspects violate …

Senate to Consider Stem Cell Proposals  —  Fertility Patients Could Donate Embryos  —  Senate leaders from both parties agreed yesterday to schedule a vote on a package of bills that would loosen President Bush's five-year-old restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research.

U.S. troops accused of killing Iraq family  —  BEIJI, Iraq - Five U.S. Army soldiers are being investigated for allegedly raping a young woman, then killing her and three members of her family in Iraq, a U.S. military official said Friday.  —  The soldiers also allegedly burned the body …

A Secret the Terrorists Already Knew  —  COUNTERTERRORISM has become a source of continuing domestic and international political controversy.  Much of it, like the role of the Iraq war in inspiring new terrorists, deserves analysis and debate.  Increasingly, however, many of the political …

US, Iraqi forces clash with Shi'ite militia  —  BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi and U.S. troops battled Shi'ite militiamen in a village northeast of Baghdad on Thursday, and witnesses and police said U.S. helicopters bombed orchards to flush out gunmen hiding there.

A Spat Over Iraq Revealed On Tape  —  Rice and Russian Caught Bickering At Private Lunch  —  MOSCOW, June 29 — The official State Department version is that "there was absolutely no friction whatsoever" between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during …

Islamic leaders: Suicide bombers go to hell  —  Islamic Research Academy in Egypt says suicide bombers in name of Islam are not martyrs, but rather selling their soul to Satan.  Israelis shouldn't be happy, however; Egyptian expert on Islam clarifies, 'those using suicide bombing against enemy …

Sensitive Subject In The Senate  —  Lieberman's Colleagues In Awkward Position  —  WASHINGTON — Want to see a Democratic senator squirm?  Don't ask about Iraq or gasoline prices.  Ask about Joe Lieberman.  —  They edge toward the door, duck into the elevator, scoot down the hall to avoid the question …

Comeback talk creates Lott buzz  —  The prospect of former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) returning to leadership next year is creating more and more buzz on and off Capitol Hill, Republican insiders say.  —  The higher volume of talk has been fueled partly by his former aides …

Kerik Pleads Guilty for Gifts and a Loan  —  Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner, pleaded guilty today to two misdemeanor charges as the result of accepting tens of thousands of dollars of gifts and a loan while he was a city official in the late 1990's.

When A Net Neutrality Tie Is A Win  —  The news stories following the Senate Commerce Committee vote on Net Neutrality pictured it as a defeat for the forces of good.  Don't believe it.  Even though the Net Neutrality amendment failed on a tie vote, we got ourselves into a good position for the rest of the game.

THE HIDDEN POWER  —  On December 18th, Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State, joined other prominent Washington figures at FedEx Field, the Redskins' stadium, in a skybox belonging to the team's owner.  During the game, between the Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys …