Rushing Off a Cliff  —  Here's what happens when this irresponsible Congress railroads a profoundly important bill to serve the mindless politics of a midterm election: The Bush administration uses Republicans' fear of losing their majority to push through ghastly ideas about antiterrorism …

New Hope for Democrats in Bid for Senate  —  Six weeks before Election Day, the Democrats suddenly face a map with unexpected opportunities in their battle for control of the Senate.  —  In Virginia, a state that few expected to be seriously competitive, Senator George Allen, a Republican …

Poll: Iraqis back attacks on U.S. troops  —  WASHINGTON - About six in 10 Iraqis say they approve of attacks on U.S.-led forces, and slightly more than that want their government to ask U.S. troops to leave within a year, a poll finds.  —  The Iraqis also have negative views of Osama bin Laden …

Clinton Defends Husband's Tack, Adding That All Democrats Should Take a Hint  —  The war of words between the Bush administration and the Clintons intensified on Tuesday as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested that her husband would have reacted differently as president if he had heard …

Bush urges bickering allies on terrorism  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush appealed to the bickering presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday to put aside their differences and "strategize together" over dinner on ways to defeat the common enemy of terrorism.

Chairman seeks review, possible removal of memorial inscriptions  —  PHOENIX — A state commission that authorized placement of the Arizona 9-11 Memorial in Wesley Bolin Plaza will review controversial laser-cut inscriptions "and see if some of them could be removed," the panel's chairman said Wednesday.

Webb Denies Ever Using Word as Epithet  —  Racial Slur Overshadowing All Else in Contest  —  Democratic Senate candidate James Webb on Wednesday sought to explain remarks he had made a day earlier, in which he refused to say whether he had used the "N-word," but he insisted he has never used it as a racial epithet aimed at anyone.

Jeanine Pirro Under Criminal Investigation  —  ALBANY, N.Y. — NewsChannel 4's Jonathan Dienst has learned Jeanine Pirro, the Republican candidate for New York Attorney General, has been under state and federal criminal investigation.  — Images: Pirro Probed For Alleged Spy Plan

Cleric Said to Lose Reins of Parts of Iraqi Militia  —  The radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has lost control of portions of his Mahdi Army militia that are splintering off into freelance death squads and criminal gangs, a senior coalition intelligence official said Wednesday.

Opera featuring Mohammed's head may take place after German leader intervenes  —  Germany's conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday led political and arts world uproar at the scrapping of a Mozart opera that features the head of the prophet Mohammed rolling across the stage.

Musgrave: Gay Marriage 'Is The Most Important Issue That We Face Today'  —  Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), the lead sponsor of the constitutional ban on gay marriage in the House, spoke this weekend at the Family Research Council's "Values Voter Summit."  (Other virulently anti-gay speakers were featured at the event.)

Question for Michelle Malkin: Does the Conscience of a Conservative Still Exist?  —  I'm publicly calling out Michelle Malkin, someone whom I often disagree with but usually respect.  I hope she will think about it and respond thoughtfully and not angrily or flippantly.

Muslims' Complicity With Violence  —  Unless it clamps down vigorously on fanaticism, the Islamic world risks validating its worst caricatures.  —  EVER SINCE 9/11, a dark view of Islam has been gaining currency on what might be called the Western street.  This view holds that …

Ailes: `An assault on all journalists'  —  NEW YORK - Fox News chief Roger Ailes says former President Clinton's response to Chris Wallace's question about going after Osama bin Laden represents "an assault on all journalists."  —  Ailes said Clinton had a "wild overreaction" in the interview, broadcast on "Fox News Sunday."