Charles Hagel

Sen. Charles Hagel of Nebraska on Sunday became the second Republican senator to break ranks with the Bush-Cheney campaign's characterization of John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, as soft on defense issues. Hagel joined fellow Vietnam veteran Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in criticizing ads sponsored by the Bush campaign that call Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts who also is a Vietnam veteran, "weak on defense."

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) declined to endorse his party's likely presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and said he would consider serving in a Cabinet under Democrat Barack Obama. But Hagel, who last year considered a White House run as an independent, said he would remain a registered Republican, at least for now. "I don't have any plans to endorse any candidate," Hagel, 61, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's "Political Capital With Al Hunt," to be broadcast today.

If the Senate passes campaign finance reform, it will almost certainly represent a major victory for a maverick Republican senator with a record of war heroism, considerable political ambitions and a penchant for piquing his colleagues. The only question on Capitol Hill is, which senator? Sen. John McCain of Arizona is the catalyst for the campaign finance debate underway on the Senate floor.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, one of the more forceful Republican voices in opposition to the Iraq war, has put off a decision about a possible presidential bid, saying he wanted to focus on the conflict and other pressing issues. The Nebraska senator called a news conference in Omaha to say he would decide about his political future at a later date. He said that a late entry into the 2008 race was still possible.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, one of the more forceful Republican voices in opposition to the Iraq war, has put off a decision about a possible presidential bid, saying he wanted to focus on the conflict and other pressing issues. The Nebraska senator called a news conference in Omaha to say he would decide about his political future at a later date. He said that a late entry into the 2008 race was still possible.

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) declined to endorse his party's likely presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and said he would consider serving in a Cabinet under Democrat Barack Obama. But Hagel, who last year considered a White House run as an independent, said he would remain a registered Republican, at least for now. "I don't have any plans to endorse any candidate," Hagel, 61, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's "Political Capital With Al Hunt," to be broadcast today.

Some of Bob Kerrey's former Senate colleagues who served in Vietnam said they have little desire for a Pentagon investigation into his recent admission that civilians were killed during a 1969 mission for which he won the Bronze Star. "To now talk about an investigation, it seems to me, is just the wrong way to go," Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) told ABC's "This Week." "If the Pentagon asked me, I'd say no." Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.

In the worst terrorist attack ever against the United States, hijackers struck at the preeminent symbols of the nation's wealth and might Tuesday, flying airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and killing or injuring thousands of people. As a horrified nation watched on television, the twin towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan collapsed into flaming rubble after two Boeing 767s rammed their upper stories. A third airliner, a Boeing 757, flattened one of the Pentagon's five sides.

In the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, hijackers flew two airliners into the World Trade Center today, collapsing both towers into flaming rubble, and crashed another aircraft at the Pentagon, shutting down the government and financial markets and spreading fear throughout America. The toll of dead or injured was expected to climb into the thousands. Hours later, a fourth airliner, bound from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, went down in western Pennsylvania.

Guests scheduled for Sunday's television interview shows: MEET THE PRESS NBC, 7 a.m., Channel 4 (VCR Plus No. 31502) * Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, Gov. Thomas J. Ridge of Pennsylvania, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), ex-TV host Phil Donahue FOX NEWS SUNDAY Fox, 8 a.m., Channel 11 (VCR Plus No. 10057) * GOP running mate Dick Cheney, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) FACE THE NATION CBS, 7:30 a.m., Channel 2 (VCR Plus No. 91182) * Sens. Charles Hagel (R-Neb.), Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D-Ark.

Sen. Charles Hagel of Nebraska on Sunday became the second Republican senator to break ranks with the Bush-Cheney campaign's characterization of John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, as soft on defense issues. Hagel joined fellow Vietnam veteran Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in criticizing ads sponsored by the Bush campaign that call Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts who also is a Vietnam veteran, "weak on defense."

If the Senate passes campaign finance reform, it will almost certainly represent a major victory for a maverick Republican senator with a record of war heroism, considerable political ambitions and a penchant for piquing his colleagues. The only question on Capitol Hill is, which senator? Sen. John McCain of Arizona is the catalyst for the campaign finance debate underway on the Senate floor.

Senators worried that an upcoming treaty on global warming would economically damage the United States voted, 95-0, Friday to urge the government not to sign it. In debate on their nonbinding resolution, the senators complained that about 130 developing nations--including China, India, Mexico and South Korea--would not be required to limit air pollution by the pact.

Three Republican senators introduced a bill Thursday to place regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two biggest U.S. providers of mortgage financing, in the Treasury Department. "The success of these organizations has a direct effect on the stability of the American economy," Sen. Charles Hagel (R-Neb.), one of the sponsors of the bill, said. "The new regulator in the Treasury Department would be better equipped to oversee these large financial institutions," Hagel said. Sens.