A powerful earthquake toppled buildings, schools and chemical plants Monday in central China, killing more than 8,700 people and trapping untold numbers in mounds of concrete, steel and earth in the country's worst quake in three decades.

It was only a matter of time, really. If you ever doubted that Joe Lieberman would be using what's left of his "Independent Democrat" credentials to legitimize the GOP's bogus "Hamas endorsed Obama" attack, here he is on CNN doing just that... When Wolf Blitzer pointed out that Obama also labels Hamas a terrorist organization, making his position the same as McCain's, Lieberman said, "that's true," adding that Obama "clearly doesn't support any of the values and goals of Hamas."

Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr launched a Libertarian Party presidential bid Monday, saying voters are hungry for an alternative to the status quo who would dramatically cut the federal government.

The Hill asked all 97 senators who are not running for president the same question: “If you were asked, would you accept an offer to be the VP nominee?” Some senators laughed, but others took the question seriously. A story about these responses appears in the May 13 print edition of The Hill and at thehill.com. Here, verbatim, are the 97 responses.

Elizabeth Holmes reports on the presidential race. John Hagee, the controversial evangelical pastor who endorsed John McCain, will issue a letter of apology to Catholics today for inflammatory remarks he has made, including accusing the Roman Catholic Church of supporting Adolf Hitler and calling it “The Great Whore.”

John McCain’s association with George W. Bush makes 38% of likely voters less likely to support McCain in the presidential election, slightly more than the 33% who say this about Barack Obama and his ties with Jeremiah Wright.

When the Islam smear against Obama first came out, it was based on the idea that he is currently, a Muslim. Then the Pastor Wright controversy put that mess to rest, since Obama's affiliations to an obviously Christian Church became front and center. Now there is a new Islam smear. This one says that Obama was a Muslim -- and as a result, he is going to arouse the wrath of Muslims around the world who are going to want to kill him for apostasy (converting away from Islam, punishable by death). This new version comes to us via Edward Luttwack in the New York Times.

For House Republicans, this week could be a real political turning point. But will it be a downturn or an upturn? On Tuesday, Republicans will join the rest of the Capitol Hill political world in following a special House election in Mississippi to see if the minority party can stave off disaster and not lose a third special election in a heavily Republican district this year. A win by Democrat Travis Childers in the state’s 1st District could spark real panic among Republicans about their prospects in November.

Marietta tavern owner Mike Norman says the T-shirts he's peddling, featuring cartoon chimp Curious George peeling a banana, with \

WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans being secretly wiretapped or having their financial and other records reviewed by the government has continued to increase as officials aggressively use powers approved after the Sept. 11 attacks. But the number of terrorism prosecutions ending up in court -- one measure of the effectiveness of such sleuthing -- has continued to decline, in some cases precipitously. The trends, visible in new government data and a private analysis of Justice Department records, are worrisome to civil liberties groups and some legal scholars.

The Pentagon document dump on its propaganda program reveals this interesting insight as to how the Defense Department worked with conservative allies to manipulate the media. In a Feb. 16, 2006 email exchange, Pentagon media staffers discussed coordinating with the Heritage Foundation to identify someone to speak about detainee treatment at Gitmo. An anonymous employee suggested retired Army Sergeant Major Steve Short because “he seems to be on message and very articulate.”

Mr. Rauschenberg, who time and again reshaped art in the 20th century, defied the traditional idea that an artist stick to one medium or style.

Senator Barack Obama has tapped into a generation that is in danger of being left out of the American dream.

Am I being "age-ist"? Probably. But the world is a pretty complicated place right now and I'm thinking that it's not such a great time to elect our oldest President ever. So sue me.

According to a new poll, the Bush's approval rating has dramatically dropped. Eighty-two percent of Americans now say the country's seriously off on the wrong track, up 10 points in the last year to a point from its record high in polls since 1973. And 31 percent approve of Bush's job performance overall, while 66 percent disapprove. Click here for a PDF with charts and full questionnaire. The country's mood -- and the president's ratings -- are suffering from the double whammy of an unpopular war and a faltering economy. Consistently for the last year, nearly two-thirds of Americans have said the war in Iraq was not worth fighting.

Since losing 30 seats and their 12-year stranglehold on power in 2006, House Republicans have kept asking themselves the same question: Can it get any worse?

McCain tries to woo independent voters with a warm (but not hot) view of climate.

In his career in public service, Bob Barr has performed many important roles.