NEW YORK, June 20 (Reuters) - The New York Times reported the following stories on its front page on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

---

Truck bomb hits Baghdad mosque, and 61 are killed. The timing, during a major U.S. offensive, seemed intended to demonstrate that insurgents could still strike with near impunity.

---

American forces have been confounded by insurgents who have slipped away only to fight another day.

---

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg severs Republican party ties, fueling talk of 2008 presidential bid. The step could clear the way for Bloomberg to make an independent bid.

---

Automakers are lobbying for a modest increase in mileage standards, hoping to silence calls for tougher targets.

---

The Karitiana Indians, an isolated tribe in the Amazon, have discovered that blood they gave researchers who promised but did not deliver medicine, is for sale online.

---

Sheldon Silver, speaker of the New York State Assembly, is barely known to the general public but wields tremendous power over many bills.

---

Local leaders in South Texas are puzzled and alarmed over the implications of a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border.

---

AlertNet news is provided by