African American Voters Shift Support to Obama  —  The opening stages of the campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination have produced a noticeable shift in sentiment among African American voters, who little more than a month ago heavily supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton …

Iraq Bill Vexes Democrats  —  Leaders Struggle to Craft Measure That Can Unite Party  —  House Democratic leaders offered a full-throated defense last night of their plans to link Iraq war spending with rigorous standards for resting, training and equipping combat troops …

An Editor's Confession: I'm the Source of 'Slow Bleed'  —  With a mixture of pride and remorse, I have a confession: I am the author of the Democratic Party's "slow-bleed strategy" for ending the war in Iraq.  —  I had nothing to do with the details of the plan that Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) floated two weeks ago.

U.S. Set to Join Iran and Syria in Talks on Iraq  —  American officials said Tuesday that they had agreed to hold the highest-level contact with the Iranian authorities in more than two years as part of an international meeting on Iraq.  —  The discussions, scheduled for the next two months …

For Want of a Dentist  —  George's Boy Dies After Bacteria From Tooth Spread to Brain  —  Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday.  —  A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him.  —  If his mother had been insured.  —  If his family had not lost its Medicaid.

Prince says McDonald's should be banned  —  The Prince of Wales hit out at McDonald's yesterday, suggesting that banning the US chain was the "key" to children eating more healthily.  —  His controversial comment provoked an immediate reaction from the fast-food company, which called the words …

Walter Reed patients told to keep quiet  —  Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Medical Hold Unit say they have been told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not speak to the media.

New Light Shed on CIA's 'Black Site' Prisons  —  On his last day in CIA custody, Marwan Jabour, an accused al-Qaeda paymaster, was stripped naked, seated in a chair and videotaped by agency officers.  Afterward, he was shackled and blindfolded, headphones were put over his ears, and he was given an injection that made him groggy.

U.S. Sanctions With Teeth  —  Everybody knows that economic sanctions don't work.  Just look at the decades of fruitless pressure on Cuba.  But guess what?  In the recent cases of North Korea and Iran, a new variety of U.S. Treasury sanctions is having a potent effect, suggesting that the conventional wisdom may be wrong.

Some push for Huckabee to run for Senate, not president  —  Though his long-shot presidential campaign is still in its early stages, some wish former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee would drop his national aspirations and return home to wage what they see as a vital campaign against Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) in 2008 instead.

Jailers Testify About Padilla's Confinement  —  As Jose Padilla dropped his head and grew still, a senior official from the naval brig in Charleston, S.C., testified on Tuesday in federal court here that he had twice observed Mr. Padilla weeping in the electronically monitored cell …

Baucus Told by Montana Legislature to Oppose New Trade Measure  —  Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) — Max Baucus, the Senate Finance Committee Chairman, came under pressure from his own state legislature to oppose extending President George W. Bush's trade negotiating authority.

Va.'s Two Warners May Be Headed for Rematch  —  Ex-Governor Mark Is Being Urged to Seek U.S. Senate Seat Held by John  —  Former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner is being courted by national Democrats to run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by John W. Warner (R-Va.) and is seriously considering …

Frameshop: Giuliani the Transvestite  —  Of all the words used to describe the campaign of Rudy Giuliani, transvestite may be the most accurate.  The video from 2000—which shows Donald Trump thrusting his face into Rudy's deftly sported novelty breasts—may be the first thing that comes to mind.

Prepare for the Great Arab Unraveling  —  Seymour Hersh, investigative journalist for The New Yorker magazine, has sparked fresh debate with his latest article alleging that the Bush administration's new policy to confront Iran has led it to send American money and other forms of assistance …

Pardons reemerge as issue in Clinton run  —  WASHINGTON — Six years ago, the launch of Hillary Clinton's career in the US Senate was marred by allegations that her brothers had received payments from people pardoned by President Bill Clinton in the waning months of his presidency.

Bill would mandate nicer term for illegals  —  TALLAHASSEE — A state legislator whose district is home to thousands of Caribbean immigrants wants to ban the term "illegal alien" from the state's official documents.  —  "I personally find the word 'alien' offensive when applied to individuals …