Bipartisan accord reached on war funding bill

President Bush would win $162 billion in long-overdue funding to carry out military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan into next year under a bipartisan agreement sealed on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

The agreement reached between House Democrats and Republicans and the White House _ if passed into law as expected _ would finally put to rest Bush's long-standing battles with congressional Democrats over war funding.

House passage of the bill, expected Thursday, would also pave the way for a quick infusion of emergency flood relief for the Midwest, a 13-week extension of unemployment payments for the longtime jobless and a big boost in GI Bill college for …