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WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence. According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July. "He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview. Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in...

The sad case of pregnant, murdered Jessie Davis and her married lover (and alleged killer) Bobbie Cutts threatens to dominate cable news for months to come – especially now that Paris Hilton’s out of jail and the justice system has established the paternity of Anna Nicole’s baby. Unlike these other media obsessions, however, this horrifying story conveys some significant messages and should help to refocus attention on the nation’s most significant and menacing social problem: the unchecked epidemic and unquestioning acceptance of out of wedlock birth. Jessie Davis died within days of giving birth to her second illegitimate child, both...

<p>FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON ON NOT CAPTURING BIN LADEN: 'At least I tried. That's the difference between me and some, including all the right wingers. They ridicule me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed'...</p>

2 charged with filing fake obituary Pair submited obituary for son to newspaper Published: 04/10/2006 12:53 PM Updated: 04/10/2006 2:47 PM WATERLOO, IA - Two people who police say conspired to get off of work for a few days by filing a fake obituary with a newspaper have been arrested. James Ralph Snyder, 36, and Mary Jo Elizabeth Jensen, 33, both of Waterloo, participated in the scam by filing an obituary saying Jensen's 17-year-old son had died, police said. Snyder was charged with tampering with records. Jensen was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Snyder, claiming he was...

The disturbing truth about Sweden’s moral decay should serve to sober us from our own complacent drunken stupor. I recently had occasion to discuss religion and politics (dangerous ground, I know) with a Swedish mother of two visiting America. Sonya (not her real name) is a manager at a large investment house in Sweden. Her politics may be described as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. In a word, fashionable. We chatted about the Swedish economy, city life versus country life, and agreed that high taxes were hard on families. So much for the preliminaries. Then we dove into the issue...

The New National Gallery in Berlin, Germany, mounts a new work by performance-artist Vanessa Beecroft. The show is as transparent as the modernist masterpiece building itself: the living models are all nude. It isn't everyday that you see 100 naked women standing in the lobby of Berlin's New National Gallery. But on Thursday and Friday, a mass of women between the ages of 18 and 65 stood in the Mies van der Rohe-designed glass and steel architectural monument, wearing nothing but almond oil and see-through tights. The women are part of artist Vanessa Beecroft's new show "VB 55." For three...

" I will never be president, Merry Christmas."

MADISON, United States (AFP) - Rock icon Bruce Springsteen sent megastar wattage surging through John Kerry (news - web sites)'s White House campaign, whipping up a crowd of least 80,000 people at a rocking rally in swing state Wisconsin. "The Boss," famed for hits including "Born in the USA," said Kerry had lived his country's history for 50 years, and painted him as true guardian of the gritty working folk and American fables that people his songs. Thousands of spectators packed balconies on neat wooden houses along a mile-long stretch of road climbing up the Midwest state's white Capitol, packed...

A 23-year-old female teacher in Tampa, Fla., was arrested Monday for the second time on charges of having sex with a 14-year-old male student. Debra Lafave, (pictured, left) was accompanied by her new attorney, John Fitzgibbons as she surrendered to Marion County deputies in Ocala. Lafave, who is married, is a reading teacher at Greco Middle School in Temple Terrace, just northeast of Tampa. The new charges accuse Lafave of pursuing the 14-year-old student to Ocala, Fla., while he was visiting his 15-year-old cousin. Detectives said Lafave had sex with the student twice in Ocala - once in the back...

FR Columnists Corner "The Pro-Life Movement's Problem With Morality" Commentary by Cathryn CrawfordMaking claim to being pro-life in America is like shouting, “I’m a conservative Christian Republican!” from your rooftop. This is partly due to the fact that a considerable number of conservative Christian Republicans are pro-life. It’s hardly true, however, to say that they are the only pro-life people in America. Surprisingly enough to some, there are many different divisions within the pro-life movement, including Democrats, gays, lesbians, feminists, and environmentalists. It is not a one-party or one-group or one-religion issue. The pro-life movement doesn’t act like it, though....

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