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.

FBI searches offices of Alaska lawmakers  —  Legislators targeted in five locations as part of 'pending investigation'  —  JUNEAU, Alaska - Federal agents raided the offices of at least six Alaska lawmakers Thursday in a search for any ties between the legislators and a large oil field services company, officials said.

Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps?  —  Mickey Kaus looks at this table:  —  Table 22.  Number and Percent of People Below  —  50 Percent of Poverty Level: 1975 to 2005  —  Year Total Number Percent  —  2005...... 293,135 15,928 5.4  —  2004 14/.. 290,617 15,693 5.4

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

On the Job, Nursing Mothers Find a 2-Class System  —  When a new mother returns to Starbucks' corporate headquarters in Seattle after maternity leave, she learns what is behind the doors mysteriously marked "Lactation Room."  —  Whenever she likes, she can slip away from her desk and behind those doors …

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.

Where's Mao?  Chinese Revise History Books  —  When high school students in Shanghai crack their history textbooks this fall they may be in for a surprise.  The new standard world history text drops wars, dynasties and Communist revolutions in favor of colorful tutorials on economics, technology, social customs and globalization.

Burns urges Schweitzer to take steps already taken  —  HELENA — U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns urged Gov. Brian Schweitzer to declare a fire state of emergency Thursday and activate the Montana Army National Guard for firefighting — more than a month after Schweitzer had already done so.

A Younger India Is Flexing Its Industrial Brawn  —  Rolls of steel weighing up to 30 metric tons are loaded onto ships at Hazira, India.  Steel shipped by the Essar Group to the United States is put to a variety of uses like construction projects and mountings for car engines.

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 …