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 …

Tribal Coalition in Anbar Said to Be Crumbling  —  U.S.-Backed Group Has Fought Al-Qaeda in Iraq  —  A tribal coalition formed to oppose the extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq, a development that U.S. officials say has reduced violence in Iraq's troubled Anbar province, is beginning to splinter …

THAAAT'S What We Were All Waiting For?  Angry 'Sopranos' Fans Crash HBO Website  —  The line to cancel HBO starts here.  What a ridiculously disappointing end lacking in creativity to The Sopranos saga.  But if you're one of those who found it perversely interesting, then don't bother to read on.

Her Way  —  On Meet the Press yesterday, Tim Russert asked Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta what was the most important thing in their new book, Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton.  —  Gerth: "She's now running for president, and we felt that people needed to understand how …

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.

Reagan's famous line nearly clipped from Berlin speech  —  SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Top administration officials said the speech was all wrong.  Too provocative, said the National Security Council.  Too tough, said the State Department.  —  The president overruled his advisers and …

The Party of Economic Seriousness  —  The collapse of the immigration bill last week holds a political lesson.  It isn't just Democrats who flunk Globalization 101.  Indeed, Democrats may be supplanting Republicans as the grown-ups on this issue.  —  Anyone who understands Globalization 101 knows …

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.

Video: Dennis Miller goes nuclear on Harry Reid  —  The e-mails are flooding in.  You want it?  You got it.  —  If Rasmussen's right, this should resonate broadly.  —  Blowback

EXCLUSIVE: Hilton Calls Barbara Walters from Jail  —  She 'Was Severely Depressed and Felt as if I Was in a Cage,' but now Has 'New Chance'  —  In jail serving out the remainder of her sentence for violating parole on reckless driving charges, Paris Hilton phoned ABC News' Barbara Walters Sunday …

Court to hear cocaine sentence case; issues five unanimous rulings.  —  The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to take up at its next Term the long-standing dispute over the fairness of punishing crack cocaine crimes far more severely — 100 to 1 — than those involving cocaine powder under federal Sentencing Guidelines.

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 …

Free Porn Threatens Adult Film Industry  —  More Porn Viewers Are Getting It For Free On The Web; Industry Sales Start to Slip  —  "Free porn" just might be the two most exciting or frightening words in the English language, depending on your point of view.

An awkward ad by Fred Thompson  —  He promotes the firm of a man once accused of deceiving consumers.  —  Possible presidential candidate Fred D. Thompson is lending his voice to radio commercials for a company that says it fights identity thieves and that was co-founded by a man accused …