Powell Calls for Closure of Military Prison at Guantanamo  —  Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell said yesterday that he would close down the U.S. military prison for enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, "this afternoon" because it has become a major problem in "the way the world perceives America."

Lieberman for Secretary of State  —  On Face the Nation, he just called for military strikes against terrorist training camps inside Iran, echoing, ahem, myself lo these several years.  He put it perfectly, for my money: … Meanwhile, the appeasers over at the State Department …

U.S. Arming Sunnis in Iraq to Battle Old Qaeda Allies  —  With the four-month-old increase in American troops showing only modest success in curbing insurgent attacks, American commanders are turning to another strategy that they acknowledge is fraught with risk: arming Sunni Arab groups …

Studies say death penalty deters crime  —  Anti-death penalty forces have gained momentum in the past few years, with a moratorium in Illinois, court disputes over lethal injection in more than a half-dozen states and progress toward outright abolishment in New Jersey.

'Political meddling' ruining learning in schools  —  The curriculum in state schools in England has been stripped of its content and corrupted by political interference, according to a damning report by an influential, independent think-tank.  —  It warns of the educational apartheid opening …

U.S. relies on Sudan despite condemning it  —  The nation accused of aiding the killings in Darfur provides spies in Iraq.  In return, it gets access in Washington.  —  WASHINGTON — Sudan has secretly worked with the CIA to spy on the insurgency in Iraq, an example of how the U.S …

Romney's Run Has Mormons Wary of Scrutiny  —  LOGAN, Utah — In this wide valley where the twin spires of the Mormon temple dominate the landscape and some neighborhoods have a Mormon chapel every few blocks, Mitt Romney's bid for president is both a proud sign of progress and a cause of trepidation.

Immigration Judges Often Picked Based On GOP Ties  —  Law Forbids Practice; Courts Being Reshaped  —  The Bush administration increasingly emphasized partisan political ties over expertise in recent years in selecting the judges who decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of immigrants …

France's Sarkozy Poised for Election Win  —  PARIS (AP) - President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to revive France's economy and its identity appeared poised for victory on Sunday in parliamentary elections, with voters widely expected to give allies of their new conservative leader a mandate for change.

GOP Senator To Propose Vote of No Confidence — In Congress  —  Those wacky Republican Senators from Oklahoma...  If it's not James "Ice-Age" Inhofe raving like a crazy man on a street corner about climate change being a big liberal hoax, it's his colleague, Dr. Tom Coburn …

Gaza militants' "TV" sign draws reporters' anger  —  Source: Reuters  —  The Palestinian journalists' union criticised militants on Sunday for using a vehicle marked with a "TV" sign to approach Gaza's border with Israel and attack an Israeli military position across the frontier.

America's Secret Obsession  —  "If you guard your toothbrushes and diamonds with equal zeal, you'll probably lose fewer toothbrushes and more diamonds."  —  McGeorge Bundy  —  In April 1971, CIA officer John Seabury Thomson paddled his aluminum canoe across the Potomac on his daily commute …