Democrats Sets House Debate To Rebuke Bush on Iraq Policy
House Democratic leaders persuaded members of their party on Thursday to limit the scope of an Iraq war resolution next week to a simple repudiation of President Bush’s troop buildup plan, hoping to temporarily set aside divisive decisions over war financing and troop redeployments.
Shorts (left)
Three illegal immigrants were shot to death Thursday and three others wounded near Tucson, Ariz., after gunmen accosted them as they traveled north from the Mexican border, the authorities said.
Defense Secretary Instructs NATO Allies to Send Troops
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, attending his first conference of NATO defense ministers, told these American allies that they must fulfill their commitments to provide troops for Afghanistan in time for a spring offensive against the Taliban.
Palestinian Factions Agree To Creation of National Unity Gov’t
The main rival Palestinian factions agreed late Thursday to form a government of national unity aimed at ending a wave of violence between them and an international boycott.
Caltech Unveils an Innovative But Costly Particle Accelerator Design
At a news conference in Beijing an international consortium of physicists released the first detailed design of what they believe will be the Next Big Thing in physics: A machine 20 miles long that will slam together electrons and their evil-twin opposites, positrons, to produce fireballs of energy recreating conditions when the universe was only a trillionth of a second old.
Pentagon Investigation Into Handling Of War Intelligence Criticizes Officials
A Pentagon investigation into the handling of prewar intelligence has criticized civilian Pentagon officials for conducting their own intelligence analysis to find links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida, but said the officials did not violate any laws or mislead Congress, according to congressional officials who have read the report.
Shorts (right)
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned the United States on Thursday that Iran would retaliate against American interests worldwide if it is attacked — the latest volley in an escalating rhetorical war between the countries.
Democrats to Face Constraints In Revising $2.9 Trillion Budget
With its military spending increases, reductions in popular domestic programs and calls to extend tax cuts, President Bush’s $2.9 trillion budget for 2008 drew fire from Democrats the minute it landed on Monday.
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In the week before the AFC championship game two weeks ago, Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy joked that one outstanding defensive performance might be considered an accident, and two might be a coincidence. Three, he said, would be a trend.
Once Just an Inconvenience, Orbiting Junk Now a Threat
For decades, space experts have worried that a speeding bit of orbital debris might one day smash a large spacecraft into hundreds of pieces and start a chain reaction, a slow cascade of collisions that would expand for centuries, spreading chaos through the heavens.
GOP Senators Thwart Debates Over US Troop Buildup in Iraq
Republicans on Monday blocked Senate debate on a bipartisan resolution opposing President Bush’s troop buildup in Iraq, leaving in doubt whether the Senate would render a judgment on what lawmakers of both parties described as the paramount issue of the day.
Saudis Push to Counter Iranians In Area With Aggresive Mediation
With the prospect of three civil wars looming over the Middle East — and Iran poised to gain from them all — Saudi Arabia has abandoned its behind-the-scenes checkbook diplomacy and taken on a central, aggressive role in reshaping the region’s conflicts.
Blizzard Leaves Numerous Passengers Stranded in Northwest Airlines Planes
Talk about history repeating itself. On New Year’s weekend in 1999, a blizzard left thousands of passengers stranded for hours on Northwest Airlines planes at the airport in Detroit as food and water ran out and toilets became unusable.
Shorts (right)
The long and winding road has come to an end for the Beatles, at least as far as the dispute over their Apple logo is concerned.