BAGHDAD, Iraq – The U.S. military launched a major combat operation Friday as 1,000 Marines and Iraqi soldiers fanned out to track down insurgents and foreign fighters in a volatile western province straddling Syria. Operation Spear (search) began before dawn in Anbar province (search), the military said. The area is …

LONDON – Britain, which takes over the presidency of the European Union (search) next month, has postponed indefinitely a troubled referendum on the bloc’s constitution following its rejection in France and the Netherlands, Prime Minister Tony Blair‘s (search) office said Monday. Blair’s official spokesman said the failure of the French …

SAN FRANCISCO – Undeterred by recent setbacks in the push to legalize same-sex marriage (search), tens of thousands of festively dressed people marched in parades around the country Sunday to celebrate the 35th anniversary of gay pride (search). People celebrated in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta and other …

WASHINGTON – With barely a word about it, workers at the Justice Department (search) Friday removed the blue drapes that have famously covered two scantily clad statues for the past 3 1/2 years. Spirit of Justice, with her one breast exposed and her arms raised, and the bare-chested male Majesty …

MANCHESTER, Conn. – One of the nation’s top ballroom dance teams has landed in court, with a dancer accusing her partner of trying to kill her. Larinda McRaven (search) says she was attacked after she came home from a motel where she had been spending the night because of problems …

Text of John Roberts’ opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions: ROBERTS: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Senator Leahy and members of the committee. Let me begin by thank Senators Lugar and Warner and Bayh for their warm and generous introductions. And let me …

BATON ROUGE, La. – Volunteer physicians are pouring in to care for the sick, but red tape is keeping hundreds of others from caring for Hurricane Katrina (search) survivors even as health officials worry about potential outbreaks. Among the doctors stymied from helping out are 100 surgeons and paramedics in …

WASHINGTON – Gas prices are starting to creep up again in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. One way to get an idea of how and why the prices are changing is through the eyes of Jim Filby, who owns a gas station in Alexandria, Va. Filby’s Sunoco station …

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A bird flu outbreak that has killed at least four people in Indonesia (search) could quickly turn into an epidemic, the health minister warned, as another two children with symptoms of the disease died Wednesday. The government scrambled to calm public fears after the deaths of the …

See you weeknights in the No Spin Zone at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET! Tonight “The O’Reilly Factor” is on… House majority leader Tom DeLay (search) comes under fire. What’s behind the conservative congressman’s indictment and what’s at stake? Will he go to prison? We’ll have the latest. And, …