Voters Increase Support for Stem Cell Research After Viewing Michael J. Fox Ad  —  Republicans' Support for Republican House Candidates Declines  —  FLEMINGTON, N.J.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—A new national study revealed that American voters' support for stem cell research increased after they viewed …

Bush signs U.S.-Mexico border fence bill  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush signed a bill Thursday authorizing 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to give Republican candidates a pre-election platform for asserting they're tough on illegal immigration.

Outrage as Muslim cleric likens women to 'uncovered meat'  —  A Muslim cleric's claim that women who do not wear the veil are like 'uncovered meat' who attract sexual predators sparked outrage around Australia yesterday.  —  Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali, the nation's most senior Muslim cleric …

Ad Seen as Playing to Racial Fears  —  The Tennessee Senate race, one of the most competitive and potentially decisive battles of the midterm election, became even more unpredictable this week after a furor over a Republican television commercial that stood out even in a year of negative advertising.

N.J. court opens door to gay marriage  —  TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's highest court opened the door Wednesday to making the state the second in the nation to allow gay marriage, ruling that lawmakers must offer homosexuals either marriage or something like it, such as civil unions.

Bush's Proposal of 'Benchmarks' for Iraq Sounds Familiar  —  The text of President Bush's news conference yesterday ran to nearly 10,000 words, but what may have been more significant were the things he did not say.  —  The president talked repeatedly about "benchmarks" for progress in Iraq, using that word 13 times.

Airport taxi flap about alcohol has deeper significance  —  The airport taxi controversy may go deeper than the quandary over whether to accommodate Somali Muslim cabdrivers who refuse to carry passengers carrying alcohol.  Behind the scenes, a struggle for power and religious authority is apparently playing out.

Connecticut Crucible for a War Debate  —  When the three candidates in Connecticut's celebrated Senate race met for their final debate on Monday night in New London, only one of them appeared to be having a good time.  —  It was not Ned Lamont, the tense and fidgety businessman who had captured …

Youths torch two buses near Paris  —  Youths in the Paris suburbs have attacked two buses on the eve of the first anniversary of rioting among immigrant communities.  —  In Nanterre, northwestern Paris, about 10 passengers fled a bus as masked youths set it ablaze, police said.

What Osama Wants  —  THE French saying, often attributed to Talleyrand, that "this is worse than a crime, it's a blunder," could easily describe America's invasion of Iraq.  But for the United States to pull entirely out of that country right now, as is being demanded by a growing chorus of critics …

In Iraq, Journalist Richard Engel Sticks to the Story  —  NBC Correspondent Has Made War Coverage His Life  —  NEW YORK — After struggling for years to make it as a Middle East journalist, Richard Engel was living in Cairo, married to his college girlfriend and itching for a new adventure.

A New Campaign Tactic: Manipulating Google Data  —  If things go as planned for liberal bloggers in the next few weeks, searching Google for "Jon Kyl," the Republican senator from Arizona now running for re-election, will produce high among the returns a link to an April 13 article from The Phoenix New Times, an alternative weekly.

Schmidt angry to see 'cowards' speech in TV ad  —  Political Notebook  —  Rep. Jean Schmidt blasted Democrat Victoria Wulsin on Wednesday for allegedly breaking a U.S. House rule that prohibits using the broadcast of House floor proceedings in campaign ads.

Rights Group Fires Publisher of Foley E-Mail  —  A liberal gay rights group said Wednesday that one of its employees, acting anonymously, had created the Web site that first published copies of unusually solicitous e-mail messages to teenagers from former Representative Mark Foley, which led to his resignation.

Love Me, I'm a Journalist  —  A PROFESSION'S ROMANCE WITH ITSELF.  —  On Monday, I singled out Tim Rutten of the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz as I admonished journalists for overreacting to staff cuts at newsrooms around the country.

Revolt of the fairly rich  —  Today's lower upper class is seething about the ultrawealthy.  —  (Fortune Magazine) — Not long ago an investment banker worth millions told me that he wasn't in his line of work for the money.  "If I was doing this for the money," he said, with no trace of irony, "I'd be at a hedge fund."

British troops in Iraq likely to be halved after success  —  The number of British troops serving in Iraq will be halved early next year after commanders on the ground yesterday claimed to have reached the "tipping point" in defeating insurgents in the southern city of Basra.

Watchdog Group Accuses Churches of Political Action  —  A nonprofit group has filed a complaint asking the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the role that two churches may have played in the re-election campaign of Kansas' attorney general.  —  The complaint by Citizens for Responsibility …

Atheist Evangelist  —  In His Bully Pulpit, Sam Harris Devoutly Believes That Religion Is the Root of All Evil  —  NEW YORK There are really just two possibilities for Sam Harris.  Either he is right and millions of Christians, Muslims and Jews are wrong.  Or Sam Harris is wrong and he is so going to hell.

An Ascent Shadowed By Questions on Race  —  In February 2004, Sen. George Allen was on a bus taking him from Birmingham to Selma, Ala. On a video screen in front of him was "Eyes on the Prize," the acclaimed documentary chronicling the civil rights movement.