Israel Threatens to Assasinate Palestinian PM, 66 Killed in Baghdad Car Bomb & NJ State Gov't Shut Down by Gov in Today's Details

-Israel has threatened to assassinate the Palestinian prime minister if Hamas militants do not release a captured Israeli soldier unharmed, it was reported. DETAILS

-Neither President Bush nor the Republican-led Congress can extract the United States from a bloody quagmire of their own making in Iraq, said a former Republican who is seeking a Senate seat in Virginia. Democrat Jim Webb, who was President Reagan's Navy secretary in 1987-88, said he knows from his own past as one of the Vietnam War's most decorated Marines how to "bring the Iraq War to an early and honorable end." DETAILS

-Gov. Jon S. Corzine closed the state government Saturday amid a bitter dispute with fellow Democrats in the Assembly over his plan to increase the sales tax, threatening to shutter beaches, parks and possibly casinos in the coming days. DETAILS

-A parked car bomb exploded at a popular outdoor market Saturday in a Shiite slum in Baghdad, killing at least 66 people and wounding dozens, authorities said. It was the bloodiest attack to hit Iraq since the death of terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. DETAILS

-House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and other lawmakers are demanding explanations after hearing complaints that the movie "Facing the Giants" was rated PG instead of G due to religious content. (This is NOT what our elected representatives in Washington should be spending their time on. This is nothing but pandering during a campaign! Here's a novel idea - how about spending time addressing REAL LIFE issues that affect families?) DETAILS

-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office in charge of protecting California against terrorism has tracked demonstrations staged by political and antiwar groups, a practice that senior law enforcement officials say is an abuse of civil liberties. DETAILS

-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Friday he hopes the Legislature considers reimposing a ban on gay foster parents, struck down a day earlier by the state Supreme Court. DETAILS