Secretary of State General Colin Powell said yesterday the U.S. will set a deadline of six months for Iraq’s Governing Council to produce a new constitution for the country. Powell said to The New York Times, “They’ve got six months. It will be a difficult deadline to meet, but we’ve got to get them going.” Late-night comedian Jay Leno said, “They’re looking to write a constitution? Why don’t they take ours? We’re not using it.” Meanwhile, eight Iraqi civilians were killed yesterday, and 18 wounded, in a mortar attack in the town of Baqubah north of Baghdad. And the United Nations decided to remove most of the 86 internationals who are working there. In a separate attack, a U.S. soldier was killed, and two others wounded, when a rocket-propelled grenade hit a military convoy in the northern town of Kirkuk.

In Burma, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is set to leave the hospital after an operation. She is returning home under effective house arrest.

Here in this country, Democratic presidential candidates argued over tax cuts, healthcare and trade policy in Manhattan yesterday. It was the third debate of Democratic presidential candidates. The newest entrant to the race, General Wesley Clark, stood on the sidelines and was largely ignored for much of the first debate of his political career.

Seven members of an alleged Virginia jihad network were charged in a new indictment yesterday with conspiring to support terrorist organizations. Two of them are accused of planning to go to Afghanistan to fight U.S. troops battling al-Qaeda. The upgraded charges represent a major escalation of the government’s case against the men, who first were charged in June with weapons counts and with violating a nearly century-old law that bars U.S. citizens and residents from attacking countries with which the United States is at peace. Four other men have pleaded guilty to the original charges.

A federal judge in Oklahoma City blocked the National Do Not Call List for telemarketers, ruling that the federal Trade Commission exceeded its authority by establishing the registry. Some 50 million people have signed up for the list, set to take effect October 1. House and Senate lawmakers plan to take up immediate legislation on the matter, and the FTC signaled it will appeal the court ruling. The telemarketing industry vehemently opposes the list, saying it violates free speech.