Iran Opens Plant That Can Produce Plutonium  —  Just days before it is supposed to suspend enrichment of uranium or face the prospect of sanctions, Iran continues to project an image of defiance and confidence.  Its position regarding the demand it suspend enrichment remains a determined "No."

Rep. Harris Condemns Separation of Church, State  —  Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) said this week that God did not intend for the United States to be a "nation of secular laws" and that the separation of church and state is a "lie we have been told" to keep religious people out of politics.

Case of kidnapped Fox journalists could be resolved … GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP // With a deadline looming in the case of two kidnapped Fox News journalists, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Saturday that he hoped the crisis would be resolved "in the coming hours."

Hitchens Gives the Finger to Maher's Audience for 'Frivolous' Jeering of Bush  —  Writer/author Christopher Hitchens on Friday night gave the finger to the Los Angeles audience of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher.  As he laid out the case for how it's Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad …

New Orleans awaits billions in fed aid  —  NEW ORLEANS - First came the floodwaters, then the paperwork.  Billions of promised federal dollars to fix New Orleans' crumbling infrastructure have gone largely untapped a year after Hurricane Katrina.  City officials complain that a snarl of red tape …

Lieberman to consider Iraq pullout plan  —  NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Sen. Joe Lieberman, the three-term Democrat whose independent campaign for re-election is being seen as a referendum on the Iraq war, said Friday he would consider taking a look at a fellow lawmaker's proposal for a timeline for troop withdrawals.

Greg Mitchell's fake-news confession rewritten by unknown anonymous mystery perpetrator!  —  Poor guy.  As if his credibility wasn't in bad enough shape, now some fiendish saboteur's hacked in to the Media Info archives and revised the column he wrote in 2003 about having invented quotes for a story back in the late 60s.

The McCain Makeover  —  IT'S FEBRUARY 15, 2000, a pivotal moment in the race for the Republican nomination for president, and at the televised candidates' debate in Columbia, S.C., temperatures are rising.  —  John McCain, fresh off an upset victory in the New Hampshire primary …

Clinton, Lamont Meet in New York  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton had Connecticut Senate candidate Ned Lamont over for coffee Friday, discussing campaign strategy and offering to host a fundraiser, a spokesman for the senator said.  —  "It was a great meeting.

Visa Mart—Possible AQ link to busted U.S. diplomat (UPDATED)  —  UPDATES OF EXTRAORDINARY MAGNITUDE—READ TO END!  —  A U.S. Foreign Service Officer in Canada got busted Friday for an alleged visas-for-jewelry bribe case. 22-year State Department veteran Michael O'Keefe was indicted along …

Critic Alleges Deceit in Study On Stem Cells  —  A landmark scientific report that was supposed to bridge the gap between proponents and opponents of human embryonic stem cell research has become the focus of an escalating feud, with a prominent critic of the research alleging that scientists were deceptive in presenting their results.

Russian scientist predicts global cooling  —  A Russian scientist predicts a period of global cooling in coming decades, followed by a warmer interval.  —  Khabibullo Abdusamatov expects a repeat of the period known as the Little Ice Age.  During the 16th century, the Baltic Sea froze …

Service in Iraq: Just How Risky?  —  The consequences of Operation Iraqi Freedom for U.S. forces are being documented by the Defense Department with an exceptional degree of openness and transparency.  Its daily and cumulative counts of deaths receive a great deal of publicity.

JERRY McNERNEY: TURNING NORTHERN CALIFORNIA A DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE  —  If someone— like Charlie Cook or Larry Sabato— held a gun to my head and demanded I pick one congressional district that is the model for nationalizing a campaign I'd... try to get out of answering.  But if I heard the gun cock, I'd say CA-11.

WALKING AMONG THE TENT CAMPS  —  One of the first things I did when I arrived in Kiev was take the subway to Maidan, the setting of Ukraine's Orange Revolution in which over one million people camped out and protested against phony elections.  It is now a scene of perpetual nostalgia …

Screaming crowds welcome U.S. senator 'home'  —  Barack Obama uses spotlight to promote AIDS tests  —  KISUMU, Kenya (CNN) — Tens of thousands of Kenyans lined the streets of Kisumu on Saturday, giving U.S. Sen. Barack Obama a hero's welcome as he arrived to visit the nearby village where his late father and grandfather lived.

Split Remains  —  NEWSWEEK Poll: A possibly revolutionary innovation in stem-cell research hasn't changed American opinions on the topic.  Meanwhile, Bush's approval rating dips to 36 percent.  —  Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters  —  Presidents 43 and 41 went fishing in Kennebunkport, Maine, this week