More Ties to al Qaeda Found in Gaza Kidnappings  —  The Global Islamic Media Front today released a copy of the Steve Centanni & Olaf Wiig hostage video in an internet posting.  Along with the video, the al Qaeda propoganda production and distribution outlet also released photos of personal IDs found …

Senator Apologizes to Student for Remark  —  Senator George Allen of Virginia personally apologized to a volunteer for his opponent's campaign on Wednesday for a perceived racial insult, addressing a misstep that has complicated his re-election campaign and raised doubts about his potential …

FDA Approves Over-the-Counter Access for Plan B for Women 18 and Older Prescription Remains Required for Those 17 and Under  —  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced approval of Plan B, a contraceptive drug, as an over-the-counter (OTC) option for women aged 18 and older.

New Orleans Mayor Takes Swipe At NYC  —  Nagin Cites Failure To Rebuild Ground Zero While Defending Katrina Clean-Up  —  (CBS) Confronted by accusations that he's taking too long to clean up his city after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin defended himself by remarking on New York City's failure to rebuild Ground Zero.

Video: All Your Fakes Are Belong to US (Bloggers)  —  A video from our very own Sout al Kuffar!  PS-sorry about the slow load time, it's a Youtube side problem.  —  PPS-Please vote for this video at Youtube here.  Just click on the red star that is farthest to the right if you think al Kuffar's work is awesome.

Files From Duke Rape Case Give Details but No Answers  —  DURHAM, N.C. — On March 21, a week after an African-American woman charged that she had been raped by three white Duke University lacrosse players, the police sergeant supervising the investigation met with the sexual-assault nurse …

Write Some More About the Baseball Caps, Lee  —  Via Ezra, Lee Siegel denounces James Kinkaid for daring to wonder why so many people find the Jon Benet Ramsey story so fascinating.  Siegel writes … which is about the least helpful thing that someone could write about JonBenet Ramsey …

The race tightens  —  A Tribune-Review poll shows Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum closing the gap against Democratic challenger Robert P. Casey Jr., in a contest many analysts see as the nation's premier Senate race.  —  The Keystone Poll of 551 Pennsylvania voters shows Casey …

Fortune Cookie Neoconservatism  —  Everyone knows you can get a good laugh out of your meal at the local Chinese Buffet by opening your fortune cookie, reading the message aloud and adding two words on the end of the message: in bed.  If you haven't tried it before here are some examples:

Pamela Bone: Muslim sisters need our help  —  If she is dubbed right-wing for expressing solidarity with women in Islamic countries, the author doesn't mind wearing the label  —  IN Tehran in June, several thousand people held a peaceful demonstration calling for legal changes that would give …

Wanted: Scarier Intelligence  —  The last thing this country needs as it heads into this election season is another attempt to push the intelligence agencies to hype their conclusions about the threat from a Middle Eastern state.  —  That's what happened in 2002, when the administration engineered …

Inquiry Opened Into Israeli Use of U.S. Bombs  —  The State Department is investigating whether Israel's use of American-made cluster bombs in southern Lebanon violated secret agreements with the United States that restrict when it can employ such weapons, two officials said.

'Hitler' restaurant to change name  —  BOMBAY, India - The owner of a restaurant named after Adolf Hitler said Thursday he will change its name because it angered so many people.  —  Puneet Sablok said he would remove Hitler's name and the Nazi swastika from billboards and the menu.

Stem cell breakthrough to challenge Bush objections  —  By Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor of The Times  —  A stem cell breakthrough by American scientists is set to overturn ethical objections to potentially live-saving research.  —  They have found how to make stem cells from embryos without destroying …

Ann Coulter gets her freak on  —  Whenever Ann is faced with the reality that Osama hasn't been caught yet by this administration-well-Poor Ann.  Kirsten Powers actually responds to Coulter's ridiculous line that Afghanistan is going swimmingly and brings up the fact that Osama is still alive and well.

Slumber Party  —  HOW CAN WE STOP OUR TEENAGE SON FROM SLEEPING AT HIS GIRLFRIEND'S HOUSE?  —  Get "Dear Prudence" delivered to your inbox each week; click here to sign up.  Please send your questions for publication to .  (Questions may be edited.)  —  Dear Prudence,  —  What do you do when values clash?

Dangerous Curve  —  Arthur Laffer, on the opinion page of today's Wall Street Journal (hat tip to Dave Altig), writes: … It appears that, all these years that I've been studying the Phillips curve, I've been under a wrong impression about what the Phillips curve was.

Rep. Schmidt's marathon ad questioned  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio - Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt is fast, capable of running a marathon in 3 hours, 19 minutes, 6 seconds.  —  At least that's what a photo on the Ohio congresswoman's Web site shows.  —  No way, says a rival who contends that the picture …

Candidates from Both Parties Shun Partisan Label  —  Newsflash!  President Bush is unpopular.  No wonder Democrats across the country are dutifully attempting to tie every Republican candidate to their unpopular leader.  —  But most Republicans are under no illusions about the President's standing or mood of the electorate.