Verizon Denies Turning Over Local Phone Data  —  Verizon, the country's second-largest phone company, said yesterday that it had not provided local phone records to the National Security Agency as part of efforts to compile a database of calling records to track terrorist activities.

Senate guest worker plan survives attack  —  Boxer, Alabama Republican fail to kill provision, but number of visas is reduced  —  Washington — Seldom do California's liberal Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and Alabama's conservative Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions agree on anything.

Conservative Battle Fatique?  The "What If" Issue  —  More bad news for the GOP in today's edition of The Washington Post as 56 percent of the respondents to the latest Post/ABC News survey say they prefer Democrats in control of Congress.  —  There is a distinct, though not quite as deep …

DHS Does About-Face In Backing Use of National Guard to Seal Border  —  In December of 2005, Fox News talking head Bill O'Reilly floated an unlikely — even brash — idea to the Homeland Security secretary to seal off the porous southwest border.  —  "Why don't you put the National Guard …

'Earthquake in Pennsylvania'  —  TRIBUNE-REVIEW  —  Angry taxpayers on Tuesday tossed out the two Republican Senate leaders who helped engineer last year's legislative pay raise, an issue that apparently cost 15 House members their jobs, too.  —  Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer of Altoona …

Foster Quotes Eminem at Penn Graduation  —  PHILADELPHIA - You can add rapping to the list of Jodie Foster's talents.  The Oscar-winning actress spoke Monday at the University of Pennsylvania's commencement ceremonies, ending her address with the chorus of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" from …

Ripley's Believe It Or Not  —  Amazing but true: … George W. Bush isn't at 29 percent because he's lost support among moderates and liberals - he's at 29 percent because he has been too willing to cave in to moderates and liberals.  —  The recipe for restoring his popularity to above 50 percent …

The Parent Trap  —  Not long ago we worried about baby booms and overpopulation.  Now some people are worrying about a "Global Baby Bust."  Writing in Foreign Affairs, Phillip Longman says it's mostly because of economics: … He's clearly right about the economics.

At White House Briefing, Polish Replaces Testiness  —  Tony Snow said he didn't want to "hug the tar baby," and then he did just that by using the expression in his first televised White House press briefing yesterday.  —  The tar-covered doll that Br'er Fox used to ensnare Br'er Rabbit …

U.S. Secretly Backing Warlords in Somalia  —  More than a decade after U.S. troops withdrew from Somalia following a disastrous military intervention, officials of Somalia's interim government and some U.S. analysts of Africa policy say the United States has returned to the African country …

Update  —  I am sorry that I have been MIA all day.  I had a doctor appt. out of town that had been scheduled for months and then enjoyed a visit from my mom who came to help lift the spirits of my little fever girl.  Anyway, it has been kinda nice to be away from the computer all day …

Basra carnage escalates as one person killed every hour  —  One person is being assassinated in Basra every hour, as order in Iraq's second city disintegrates, according to an Iraqi Defence Ministry official.  —  And a quarter of all Iraqi children suffer from malnutrition …

Disinvited  —  The EEOC cancels a meeting rather than listen to criticism.  —  Last month, I received an invitation to testify before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about affirmative action and diversity in U.S. companies.  The testimony was scheduled for today …

We Will All Win, Eventually  —  Today, in just three divisions (precincts) available to me, Kevin and I pulled over 100 votes.  With only 27-01, 27-02, and 27-23 reporting, we have reached roughly 110 votes.  And that is only three divisions (precincts).  We won, and we won huge.

Senate readies vote on $70B tax cut  —  MAY. 11 1:13 P.M. ET President Bush and his GOP allies on Capitol Hill anticipated a long-sought election year victory Thursday as senators debated a bill awarding tax relief to investors and 15 million taxpayers with above-average incomes.