MY, WHAT A LOVELY COUPLE!

My, what a lovely couple!
Iowa State University's swans Lancelot and Elaine, above, admire their reflections in the water as they clear away their excess feathers. The two preened at the edge of Lake LaVerne in Ames, Iowa earlier this week.
Columnist Novak revealsRove as Plame source
WASHINGTON -- Columnist Robert Novak said publicly for the first time Tuesday that White House political adviser Karl Rove was a source for his story outing the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. In a column, Novak also that his recollection of his conversation with Rove differs from what the Rove camp has said. "I have revealed Rove's name because his attorney has divulged the substance of our conversation, though in a form different from my recollection," Novak wrote. Novak did not elaborate. Novak said he is talking now because Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald told the columnist's lawyer that after 21/2 years his investigation of the CIA leak case concerning matters directly relating to Novak has been concluded.
Israelis mount offensiveagainst Hamas activist
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- An Israeli airstrike targeted the home of an Hamas activist in northern Gaza early today and killed six people, officials and residents said, while Israel expanded a two-week offensive in the region with an incursion further south. Palestinians said a high-level meeting of Hamas commanders was in progress at the residence in Gaza City just before the airstrike. Nervous Hamas officials inspected the bodies but refused to comment. The Israeli military said it attacked the home because it was a "meeting place for terrorists." It also confirmed Israeli forces were operating in southern Gaza as part of an effort to win the release of a captured soldier.
G8 summit stakesare high for Bush
WASHINGTON -- The stakes for President Bush at the Group of Eight economic summit in Russia are unusually high. There's trouble wherever he looks, from North Korean missile tests and Iranian nuclear ambitions to setbacks in Afghanistan and unrelenting sectarian violence in Iraq. Bush faces the possibility that he may leave office in 21/2 years with U.S. troops still heavily involved in Iraq and with North Korea more dangerous than when he took office. Relations are shaky with host Russia, and battles between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants are roiling the Middle East. "This is a highly unusual G-8 summit, to be honest, in the sense that so many issues are ripe at the time when the leaders are meeting," White House press secretary Tony Snow said Tuesday.
British governmentlauds nuclear power
LONDON -- The British government embraced nuclear power as a key energy source in the coming decades in a new policy unveiled Tuesday, angering environmentalists eager to promote renewable power sources such as sun, wind and waves. Prime Minister Tony Blair says atomic power will allow Britain to go green, arguing the country can make cuts in its emissions of the pollutants blamed for climate change if it moves away from fossil fuels and includes nuclear power plants in energy plans the next 30-40 years. "The challenges are so great that we cannot afford to rule out any low-carbon energy source that could help," Trade Secretary Alistair Darling said.
Fire shuts down subwayduring Chicago rush hour
CHICAGO -- A train derailed and started a fire during the evening rush hour Tuesday, filling a subway tunnel with smoke and forcing dozens of soot-covered commuters to evacuate while critically injuring at least two, officials said. Terrorism was not suspected. Evacuations began after the last car of an eight-car commuter train slipped off the tracks and material beneath the train caught fire, said Chicago Transit Authority President Frank Kruesi. Passengers were moved to safety within an hour. At least 120 passengers were taken to hospitals, most for smoke inhalation.
Associated Press