Suicide blast kills 9 U.S. soldiers  —  Attack in Diyala province comes same day 5 other explosions kill 46  —  Demonstrators in Baghdad's Adhamiya district protest Monday against the construction of concrete walls in the area.  —  NBC video  —  Walling off neighborhoods

George Soros rules the world!  Bill O'Reilly loses it...  It's all Soros all the time for O'Reilly.  Didn't Soros push Bush to invade Iraq?  Wasn't it Soros that funded Gitmo?  And I believe Soros coached Alberto Gonzales before he testified last week...George wants to buy AMERICA!  Poor Joe Lieberman...

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs  —  Good morning.  We all know that these are not the best of times for America's reputation in the world.  We know what the war in Iraq has cost us in lives and treasure, in influence and respect.

Low-key office launches high-profile inquiry  —  The Office of Special Counsel will investigate U.S. attorney firings and other political activities led by Karl Rove.  —  WASHINGTON — Most of the time, an obscure federal investigative unit known as the Office of Special Counsel confines itself …

David Halberstam, 73, War Reporter and Author, Is Killed in a Car Crash  —  David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and tireless author of books on topics as varied as America's military failings in Vietnam, the deaths of firefighters at the World Trade Center and the high-pressure world …

Negotiators Agree on War-Funding Package  —  House-Senate Bill, Which Sets Timetable for Troop Withdrawal, Likely to Face Veto  —  House and Senate negotiators reached agreement yesterday on war-funding legislation that would begin bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq as early as July …

Obama's Rise Strains Loyalty on Clinton Turf  —  Only a few months ago, the vast majority of black elected officials in New York were expected to support the presidential candidacy of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.  But no longer.  —  In a series of interviews, a significant number …

The Manhattan Project.  —  Carmela returns:  —  Meet Ann Altmouse:  —  Special thanks to dan at A Blog Named Sue for his camera and editing.  You rule, Dan.

Crow calls for limit on loo paper  —  Singer Sheryl Crow has said a ban on using too much toilet paper should be introduced to help the environment.  —  Crow has suggested using "only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required".

Gingrich hires pollster  —  Newt Gingrich has hired a pollster and a fundraiser, but not for a presidential campaign - at least not yet.  —  Gingrich, the former speaker of the House and leader of the 1994 Republican revolution, has not discouraged speculation he'll add his name to the list …

An island made by global warming  —  The map of Greenland will have to be redrawn.  A new island has appeared off its coast, suddenly separated from the mainland by the melting of Greenland's enormous ice sheet, a development that is being seen as the most alarming sign of global warming.

Wolfowitz Hires Prominent Lawyer in Fight to Stay at World Bank  —  Paul D. Wolfowitz, signaling anew that he will fight for his job as World Bank president, has enlisted a prominent lawyer who defended President Bill Clinton against accusations of sexual misconduct to help convince …

At Least the Boss Was Satisfied by Gonzales's Answers  —  President Bush said Monday that the Congressional testimony of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales last week, roundly panned by members of both parties, had "increased my confidence in his ability to do the job."