Dems Seek to Bar U.S. Attacks on Iran  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders in Congress lobbed a warning shot Friday at the White House not to launch an attack against Iran without first seeking approval from lawmakers.  —  "The president does not have the authority to launch military action …

Rule by decree passed for Chavez  —  Venezuela's National Assembly has given initial approval to a bill granting the president the power to bypass congress and rule by decree for 18 months.  —  President Hugo Chavez says he wants "revolutionary laws" to enact sweeping political, economic and social changes.

First Twin Jenna Shops a Book  —  You can soon add the title of author to first daughter Jenna Bush's résumé.  —  Whispers learns that the 25-year-old blond twin of Barbara Bush is shopping a book proposal to major publishers in New York City.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Gordon Crovitz on the WSJ, Old and New Media, and Blogging as an Art Form  —  People in the newspaper business seem awfully gloomy about the future right now, and with reason.  But there's one bright spot: The Wall Street Journal's publisher Gordon Crovitz …

Sadr fears for life in security crackdown  —  Mark Oliver and agencies  —  Moqtada al-Sadr has moved his family to a secure location because of fears he will become the target of a security sweep of Baghdad, it was reported today.  —  News of the radical cleric's decision came as the US military …

Memorable moments from this week's Libby jury selection  —  Judge Reggie Walton has "another matter" he is dealing with most of today unrelated to the Scooter Libby case.  So, the pool of potential jurors will not be returning until Monday.  This break in the "voir dire" …

Obama Smeared As Former 'Madrassa' Student, Possible Covert Muslim Extremist  —  This morning, Fox News featured a segment highlighting a right-wing report that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) attended an Islamic "madrassa" school as a 6-year-old child.  —  Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy pointed …

A Charles Murray Reader  —  Charles Murray has another execrable article in the Wall Street Journal arguing that most children aren't genetically capable of reading well (it's possible these inferiors can, with great persistence and dedication, learn to sound words out), and so we should stop trying to teach them.

WHCA Chief Says He Did Not Tell Comedian to Back Off Bush and Iraq  —  NEW YORK Earlier this week word emerged that impersonator Rich Little would be the star performer at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington in April.  Organizers admitted they wanted a somewhat more …

Democrat Speak  —  I sense the dark hand of George Lakoff in all of this.  —  You remember George Lakoff, don't you?  Lakoff was the mastermind academic who officiously volunteered to help the Democrats remake America's political terminology.  I'm not sure any of the following can be laid …

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT REVEALS NORTH KOREA'S MISUSE OF U.N. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FUNDS AND OPERATIONS  —  NEW YORK — Has North Korean leader Kim Jong Il subverted the United Nations Development Program, the $4 billion agency that is the U.N.'s main development arm, and possibly stolen tens …

Libby's Memory Defense Highlights His Failures on National Security  —  You've no doubt heard that Scooter Libby will be arguing he was so busy with very important events during 2003 and 2004 that he just plum forgot that Dick Cheney-and not Tim Russert-told him of Valerie Plame's identity.

Ordeal by Appliance: Weekend Home Tales  —  FOR some people, the most elusive aspect of owning a vacation home that sits beyond big-city borders isn't finding the time to enjoy it.  It's finding someone to service the deluxe appliances inside.  —  "We called Viking over the holidays every year …

House Votes to Rescind Oil Drillers' Tax Breaks  —  House Democrats easily passed legislation on Thursday that would rescind $14 billion in tax breaks and subsidies for oil drillers and reserve the money to develop alternative energy projects and conservation technologies.