A Tool We Need to Stop the Next Airliner Plot  —  Imagine that our troops in Afghanistan raided an al-Qaeda safe house and captured a computer containing the cellphone numbers of operatives in Europe.  Wouldn't it be important to know whether one of those cellphone numbers was used to book a transatlantic flight?

Bush Cites Progress in Gulf Coast Visit  —  On the eve of the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush returned to the devastated Gulf Coast today promising to continue federal assistance, and eagerly pointing out signs of progress.  —  "It's amazing, isn't?" he told a gathering under a sweltering sun.

Karr Won't Be Charged In Death of JonBenet  —  Prosecutor Says DNA Samples Did Not Match  —  Prosecutors dropped their case against John Mark Karr in the decade-old killing of JonBenet Ramsey on Monday, abruptly ending a 12-day whirlwind that reached halfway around the globe …

Iran's leader calls for TV debate with Bush  —  Adjust font size:  —  TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on U.S. President George W. Bush to participate in a "direct television debate with us," so Iran can voice its point of view on how to end world predicaments.

Pronouncing Blame on the Israel Lobby  —  It was quite a boner.  —  University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer was in town yesterday to elaborate on his view that American Jewish groups are responsible for the war in Iraq, the destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure and many other bad things.

Slowly Sidling To Iraq's Exit  —  Many GOP Candidates Part Company With Bush  —  By Election Day, how many Republican candidates will have come out against the Iraq war or distanced themselves from the administration's policies?  —  August 2006 will be remembered as a watershed in the politics of Iraq.

Plame and the 'Bush Lied' Meme  —  A new book by Michael Isikoff, an investigative reporter for Newsweek, and David Corn, who writes for the far left wing magazine The Nation, casts many powerful people in Washington in an unflattering light — but not the people who Mr. Isikoff and Mr. Corn wish to besmirch.

Volcanic Ash  —  A totally independent, slightly irreverent and hopelessly idealistic view of people and events in Hawai'i and beyond.  David Shapiro has covered Hawai'i and national news for 38 years as a reporter, editor and columnist.  —  Reach David at volcanicash@gmail.com.

Assembly approves universal health care  —  Passage of bill seen as election-year test for Schwarzenegger  —  (08-29) 04:00 PDT Sacramento — The Democratic-controlled Legislature is on the verge of sending Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill that would create a state-run universal health care system …

Democrats Now Favored to Take Over DeLay's Old Seat  —  The Texas Republican Party establishment has rallied around a single candidate, Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, in their unusual write-in campaign to salvage the 22nd Congressional District seat vacated in June by Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader.

On YouTube, Charges of Security Flaws  —  Ex-Lockheed Worker Takes Concerns Over Coast Guard Ships to the Web  —  Michael De Kort was frustrated.  —  The 41-year-old Lockheed Martin engineer had complained to his bosses.  He had told his story to government investigators.  He had called congressmen.

Star of the Right Loses His Base at the Border  —  MUNCIE, Ind. — He supports tax cuts and the war in Iraq.  He opposes stem cell research and the Medicare drug plan.  He is a master of his movement's medium, talk radio.  Jesus Christ is his personal savior and Ronald Reagan his political idol.