Russia kills most-wanted warlord  —  MOSCOW, Russia — Russia's most wanted man, Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, has been killed in an operation by special forces, the state security chief told President Vladimir Putin on Monday.  —  FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev said Basayev …

Japan considers strike against N. Korea  —  TOKYO - Japan said Monday it was considering whether a pre-emptive strike on the North's missile bases would violate its constitution, signaling a hardening stance ahead of a possible U.N. Security Council vote on Tokyo's proposal for sanctions against the regime.

Democrats would be weaker without Lieberman  —  WASHINGTON - The week's big news is the decision by Joe Lieberman to hedge his bets and gather the signatures he will need to run — and most likely win — as an independent.  —  I've not been a big fan of Lieberman's; he's one of the key votes …

Inside Higher Ed: "We are as fair as we can bring ourselves to be"  —  For those of you who haven't seen this Inside Higher Ed piece, take a look.  Then blink, and look again.  —  Does the story as it appears at Inside Higher Ed match the version of events we all watched unfold over the last few days?

Hoekstra's Whistleblower?  —  Earlier, we surmised that the whistleblower that House Intelligence Chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) was referring to was NSA whistleblower Russ Tice.  Then we reconsidered.  —  Now another candidate has stepped forward: Dave Gaubatz.

New York building collapses, burns  —  Eleven injured; gas explosion appears to be cause  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — An explosion and fire leveled a residential building on New York's Upper East Side Monday morning, fire officials told CNN.  Eleven people were injured.

A Matter of Ethics...  I am an attorney by training and by my professional practice of the law for a number of years.  Although I am no longer practicing (this blog and motherhood taking up a substantial amount of my time), I do keep my mind in the game by reading a lot of the newer opinions …

As Israel fights, Europe starts to squirm  —  While Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the cabinet Sunday that Israel has maintained "a level of understanding and support" abroad for its military actions, the words "disproportionate use of force" and "collective punishment" …

HPD, airport security at odds over incident  —  Man allowed to board aircraft appeared to have bomb components  —  Houston police and the federal Transportation Security Administration disagree over who is responsible for allowing a man with what appeared to be bomb components board an aircraft at Hobby Airport last week.

Well-Paid Benefit Most As Economy Flourishes  —  Wages are rising more than twice as fast for highly paid workers in the Washington area as they are for low-paid workers, an analysis of federal data by The Washington Post shows.  —  That means the spoils of the region's economic expansion …

U.N. Nuclear Chief Pulled Inspector at Iran's Request  —  The Nobel Peace Prize-winning chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency effectively fired his lead Iran investigator this spring at the request of the Iranians, according to a new report in the German newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag.

Biden says new Iraq leadership is shaky  —  Senator, just back from visit, concerned about stability  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Biden returned from his seventh trip to Iraq on Saturday with serious misgivings about the new civilian government's ability to keep the country running once U.S. troops begin to withdraw.

States try to block illegal workers  —  At least 30 states have passed laws or taken other steps this year to crack down on illegal immigrants, often making it harder for undocumented workers to find jobs or receive public services.  —  STATES TAKE ACTION: A state-by-state look