&8220;The stakes are too high and the consequences too grave to turn Iraq over to extremists who want to do the American people and the Iraqi people harm.&8221; &8212; U.S. President Bush.

&8220;We heard cars and shootings in the area and then we saw gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms and driving SUVs who were snatching people from the shops and street. It took like 20 minutes for them to fan out and control the area.&8221; &8212; Iraqi store owner Mohammed Qassim Jassim on an attack in which gunmen kidnapped dozens of people in Baghdad.

&8220;He gave me great advice, he always made me laugh, and the way he connected with everyone around him amazed me. The fact that he could play a convincing curmudgeon on the show, but in reality be such a compassionate and thoughtful person, is a true testament to his talent.&8221; &8212; Ray Romano on &8220;Everybody Loves Raymond&8221; co-star Peter Boyle after Boyle died at the age of 71.

&8220;The Zionist regime will be wiped out soon the same way the Soviet Union was, and humanity will achieve freedom.&8221; &8212; Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in telling participants in a conference casting doubt on the Holocaust that Israel will one day be &8220;wiped out&8221; as was the Soviet Union.

&8220;I believe that the decision about where my parents will be buried should be made by them, and not by me, my siblings or any outsiders.&8221; &8212;Franklin Graham, 54-year-old evangelist son of Billy Graham, said in a statement. The Graham family is divided on the issue of where Billy and Ruth Graham should be buried. Billy Graham, 88, has been in frail health for years and suffers from Parkinson&8217;s disease, among several other ailments. He is at the Mayo Clinic for his vision. Ruth Graham, 86, is bedridden with degeneration of the spine.

&8220;Man and machine are at their limits there.&8221; &8212; Capt. Christopher Bernard of the Air Force Reserve&8217;s 304th Rescue Squadron. Blinding snow and powerful winds blasting Mount Hood in Oregon hindered teams searching for three lost climbers Wednesday, as forecasters warned that a new storm could bring gusts of 100 mph, followed by a deep freeze.

&8220;We have to do something, and this is something spectacular.&8221; &8212; Sheri Yellowhawk, a former tribal councilwoman overseeing the $30 million Skywalk, financed by a Las Vegas businessman and set to open in March. It has also ignited a debate among Hualapai elders who question whether the prospect of riches is worth disturbing sacred ground. The Skywalk would jut out over the edge of the Grand Canyon on a glass-bottom observation deck 4,000 feet above the Colorado River.

&8220;We&8217;re praying like I know all the people of South Dakota are for his very, very speedy recovery.&8221; &8212; First lady Laura Bush on Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota, who was in critical condition early today, a hospital official said, after late-night brain surgery following stroke-like symptoms. If Johnson leaves the Senate, the Republican governor of South Dakota could appoint a Republican, tipping the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.