AP - For the first time in history, a woman has the visibility, the reputation and the cash to make a serious run at the presidency.

AP - When handguns with bullets that can pierce body armor showed up on the streets of New Jersey, Sen. Frank Lautenberg asked federal regulators to share data that could help local police figure out where the weapons were coming from.

AP - A botched drug raid that ended the life of a 92-year-old woman in a hail of police gunfire is drawing questions from House members about the use of informants.

Reuters - The U.S. Congress should renew White House trade negotiating authority to give countries more time to conclude the Doha round of world trade talks, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

Bloomberg - May 4 (Bloomberg) -- The 10 Republican presidential hopefuls mostly took a hard line on Iraq, Iran and social issues such as abortion during their first debate last night, while distancing themselves from President George W. Bush's policies.

AFP - The US Supreme Court has shaken up the standard for patents in rulings that could have far-reaching implications for the technology sector, but also other industries such as pharmaceuticals.

Reuters - The United Nations refugee agency said on Friday it needs more funds to help the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled violence in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

AP - Some of the aid intended for the poorest of Medicare's participants — tens of millions of dollars — probably never made it to them during the first year of the new Medicare drug benefit.

AP - For a very informal president, respite from political woes for George W. Bush came in very formal dinners with Queen Elizabeth II.

AP - California Rep. John Doolittle, under scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff congressional corruption case, charged Wednesday that the government tried to strong-arm his wife to get him to admit to committing a crime.

AFP - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday spoke by phone with his US counterpart George Bush about a G8 summit in Germany in June and the current state of bilateral relations, a Kremlin spokesman said.

AFP - Germany has drawn up an eight-point programme to be tackled at the G8 summit in June, ranging from climate change to Africa's problems, chancellery minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Friday.

AP - The United States is willing to talk to Iran so long as the conversations are limited to Iraq, a spokeswoman for Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday. Cheney is visiting the region to try to encourage more support for the Iraqi government.

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney, wrapping up a weeklong tour of the Middle East Monday, said the United States doesn't have the luxury of focusing on one crisis at the expense of another.

AP - POLITICAL MILEAGE: Many of the Democratic presidential candidates are promising to increase fuel economy standards, even though the domestic automobile industry is struggling.

CQPolitics.com - CQPolitics.com on Tuesday reported on developments concerning the 2008 Senate contest in Nebraska, where some leading Republicans are getting restive about the uncertainty surrounding GOP incumbent Chuck Hagel’s plans.

AP - White, rural and homogeneous. New Hampshire and Iowa play big roles in choosing presidential candidates but don't look much like the rest of the country. A better bellwether might be Illinois. It's the most average state, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the Census Bureau.

Reuters - The U.S. Senate's senior voice on agriculture said on Wednesday he would protect American farmers by pushing a broad interpretation of limits on farm subsidies under the World Trade Organization.

AP - Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani took swipes at Democrat Hillary Clinton on taxes and health care Friday, saying her approach on both would hurt the country.

AP - The Republican patronage machine was in full motion early in the Ronald Reagan era, filling countless positions with the faithful. From his high perch at the Justice Department, Rudy Giuliani was not always willing to go along.

AP - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is proposing a $10 billion federal program aimed at providing voluntary pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-old children in America.

AP - Senator Joseph Biden said Monday he expects the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which he chairs, to adopt a resolution this week calling for full funding of the United Nations and payment of U.S. arrears.

AP - There was a time when Fred Thompson suggested that he couldn't see himself running for office again. 'For me, the George Washington example of serving eight years and riding out of town on a horse and never returning has great appeal,' the Tennessee Republican said in 2002, the twilight of his eight-year Senate career.

AP - Democratic presidential contenders on Capitol Hill will cast critical votes on the Iraq war this week, when lawmakers decide on a $120 billion bill to keep military operations afloat through September.

Reuters - President George W. Bush on Thursday said he hopes to present Congress with a new world trade deal before leaving office in January 2009.

AFP - The United States filed a complaint Friday at the World Trade Organization against India, saying its duties on alcoholic beverages and other imports violate global trade rules.

AFP - The United States and the European Union have led international condemnation of Myanmar's decision to extend the detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, calling for her immediate release.

AP - CONFIDENT JOE: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is so sure that he's right for the job that he lists his opponents' Web sites on his own so that voters can compare their ideas.

AFP - European foreign ministers are expected to confront China over the Darfur conflict at a meeting of top diplomats from 46 EU and Asian nations that gets underway here on Monday.

AP - The nation's employers say a major problem with system overload is on the way if Congress forces them to prove, electronically, that all their workers are legal.

AP - Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday declared that California's early primary has made the state more than a political ATM — just as he accepted a check from a supporter and then headed to two fundraisers.