NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls  —  The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.

Rove revamps the Republican strategy  —  With ratings down and an election coming up, the GOP take a new tack  —  President Bush and his longtime confidant and adviser, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.  —  WASHINGTON - This fall's election season is going to make the past three look like episodes of "Barney."

Abramoff's White House visits  —  Secret Service records released today under court order show that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff made only two visits to the White House since President Bush took office in January 2001.  —  On March 6, 2001, Abramoff entered at 4:23 p.m. and left at 4:49 p.m. On Jan. 20 …

IRAQ INDEX SHOWS PROGRESS BEING MADE  —  The Brookings Institution released its latest Iraq Index this week.  I would encourage you to read it all, but here are some notable items:  — Per Capita GDP (USD) for 2005 is forecast to increase from the previous year to $1,051.  In 2002 it was $802.

Bill Shifts Oversight of Some Iraq Aid  —  Political Dispute Over Funds  —  Comes at a Transition Point  —  For Bush's Reconstruction Effort  —  WASHINGTON — The Bush Administration's effort to rebuild Iraq is winding down, but the political battle over the money's oversight has flared anew.

GOP narrowing its congressional agenda  —  Focus is on pleasing base ahead of elections  —  WASHINGTON — Republican leaders in Congress have all but abandoned efforts to pass major policy initiatives this year, and are instead focusing their energies on a series of conservative favorites …

A. M. Rosenthal Is Dead at 84; Innovative Editor of The Times  —  A. M. Rosenthal, a Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent who became the executive editor of The New York Times and led the paper's global news operations through 17 years of record growth, modernization and major journalistic change, died yesterday in Manhattan.

Podhoretz on Hillary Clinton's "virtues": "I use the B-word to describe her" because she "has qualities that we commonly associate with being unfeminine" … On the May 9 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, New York Post columnist and Fox News contributor John Podhoretz discussed his new book …

Hard-Core Republicans Are Fleeing President  —  Conservatives Point to Spending, Immigration  —  Disaffection over spending and immigration have caused conservatives to take flight from President Bush and the Republican Congress at a rapid pace in recent weeks, sending Bush's approval ratings …

Pitying Darfur, Ignoring Iraq  —  It's not easy to be an enlightened liberal internationalist these days.  —  An enlightened liberal internationalist wants to send troops to the Sudanese region of Darfur to protect a majority Muslim population against murderous Islamic extremist militias.

Juan Williams: An Interview  —  I am very excited to share my interview with Fox News Contributor and Senior NPR Political Correspondent Juan Williams with you today.  Mr. Williams is one of my favorite pundits on the liberal side of the aisle.  You may not always agree with his arguments or reasoning but you do have to respect him.

April Tax Revenue 2nd-Highest in History  —  A flood of income tax payments pushed up government receipts to the second-highest level in history in April, giving the country a sizable surplus for the month.  —  In its monthly accounting of the government's books, the Treasury Department …

Does Michael Hayden Understand the Fourth Amendment?  —  Over at National Review Online, Adam White defends the new nominee to lead the CIA, General Michael Hayden, for his statements about the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.  The statements have apparently become an important issue in the debate over Hayden's nomination.

FBI Looks Into Link Between CIA Agent, SD Defense Co.  —  The national scandal that began with Randy "Duke" Cunningham's bribery is once again pointing to San Diego.  —  The number three man in the Central Intelligence Agency is stepping down.  —  They are two buddies who graduated …

HUD chief says story on contract cancellation was not true  —  Alphonso Jackson, secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, told a Dallas audience last month that he personally canceled a minority businessman's contract award in response to negative comments about President Bush.

House Panel Supports Bilingual Voting  —  What was to have been a simple renewal of the historic Voting Rights Act has become snarled in the heated debate involving immigration issues.  —  Conservative House members tried Wednesday to end a requirement in the 1965 law that bilingual ballots …