End of an Affair  —  WE'RE RELUCTANT to return to the subject of former CIA employee Valerie Plame because of our oft-stated belief that far too much attention and debate in Washington has been devoted to her story and that of her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, over the past three years.

Catalog of Ted Stevens' Actions That Have Benefitted Clients of Ben Stevens  —  From the miracle of Nexis comes this list compiled by Chuck Neubauer, Judy Pasternak and Richard T. Cooper of the Los Angeles Times in June 2003 of Sen. Ted Stevens official actions in the U.S. Senate that have benefited …

New Enemies Demand New Thinking  —  The secretary of Defense clarifies and expands on what he said in his recent speeches about appeasing extremists.  —  IN THE LAST FEW DAYS I have had the opportunity to speak at the annual conventions of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

The Path to 9/11  —  Starring Harvey Keitel, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Benyaer, Shirley Douglas, Patricia Heaton  —  The miniseries will take viewers behind closed doors at the CIA, the FBI and the White House and into the world of Richard Clarke, Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice …

Perfect Storm for the Poor  —  In Income Data, Something More Damaging Than Katrina  —  After a week of remembering the horrors of Hurricane Katrina, the most depressing realization is how easily our leaders forgot their fervent promises to lift up our nation's poorest citizens.

Interceptor downs missile in test over Pacific  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military shot down a target ballistic missile over the Pacific on Friday in the widest test of its emerging antimissile shield in 18 months, the Defense Department announced.  —  The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency …

GOP lags in key races for Senate  —  As the Labor Day weekend launches a final nine weeks of campaigning, USA TODAY/Gallup Polls in five key states show Democrats poised to gain Senate seats but facing an uphill battle to regain control.  —  Democrats seem more likely to carry the House …

Democrats Target Rumsfeld  —  Lawmakers to Seek a Vote of No Confidence in Defense Secretary  —  Under assault from Republicans on issues of national security, congressional Democrats are planning to push for a vote of no confidence in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this month as part …

Annan: Syria to enforce arms embargo  —  DAMASCUS, Syria - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that Syria has pledged to step up border patrols and work with the Lebanese army to stop the flow of weapons to Hezbollah.  —  Annan also said that he had asked Syrian President Bashar Assad …

Jobless Rate Dips in August  —  Hiring perked up in August as employers added 128,000 jobs, pulling down the unemployment rate to 4.7 percent, sending a Labor Day message that the economic expansion still has staying power.  —  The latest snapshot, released by the Labor Department Friday …

U.S. Muslims Warn of Threat From Within  —  After the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings, distraught U.S. Muslim leaders  —  feared the next casualty would be their religion.  —  Islam teaches peace, they told anyone who would listen in news conferences, at interfaith services and, most famously, standing in a mosque with President Bush.

Pentagon Releases Grim Report on Iraq  —  Iraqi casualties soared by more than 50 percent during the roughly three-month period ending in early August, the product of spiraling sectarian clashes and a Sunni-based insurgency that remains "potent and viable," the Pentagon noted today in an comprehensive assessment of security in Iraq.

The full-chested warriors — Up Close and Personal  —  (updated below)  —  When Fox News journalists Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig were being held by Gaza kidnappers, they were used as solemn symbols of our grand struggle against Islamic fascists.  But ever since they were released …

What if Bush really was assassinated?  —  Held up by a Secret Service bodyguard in his dying moments after being shot in the stomach, this is President Bush being assassinated.  —  The American leader is surrounded by a crowd of panicking onlookers just seconds after being gunned …

R.I.P. Hina Saleem, I will be intolerant in your name  —  "She was simply a daughter who did not obey", said the mother of the 20-year old dead girl, Hina Saleem.  Hina was found buried, with her throat slit, in the garden of her family home in Brescia, Italy.  The "honor" killing has rocked Italy.

In Latest Push, Bush Cites Risk in Quitting Iraq  —  President Bush said Thursday that withdrawing now from Iraq would leave Americans at risk of terrorist attacks "in the streets of our own cities," and he cast the struggle against Islamic extremists as the costly but necessary successor …