Is the Iranian yellow badges story true? (bumped)  —  Israeli politicians are sounding some very dire notes, but as far as I know, no one's independently confirmed this morning's story in the National Post yet.  Neither Stephen Harper nor John Howard had heard anything about it until today.

Centrist Know Nothings  —  This is getting stupid.  The NY Times is creating a false impression about the netroots support for Ned Lamont over Joe Lieberman as an expression of anti-war fervor.  I think that is missing the greater point.  —  There are quite a few Democrats who voted for the war.

USA Today Reporter a Democratic Donor; Phone Company Demands Retraction  —  Leslie Cauley, the USA Today reporter who last week "broke" the news that three major U.S. telecommunications companies were assisting the National Security Agency in building a database to more easily track …

Press Gaggle by Tony Snow  —  MR. SNOW: All right, thank you.  Welcome all.  Since there will be no on-air briefing today, we will publish the gaggle a bit later so you can all consult.  —  Q Great.  No bupkis list, then?  —  MR. SNOW: Well, if there's a bupkis list, we will attach the answers in the form of footnotes.

U.N. Panel Backs Closing Prison at Guantánamo  —  A United Nations panel on torture called on the United States today to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and expressed concern over reports of secret detention centers and of a practice of sending terror suspects to countries with poor human rights records.

'National' or 'common'?  Senate ponders what to call English  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Whether English is America's "national language" or its national "common and unifying language" was a question dominating the Senate immigration debate.  —  The Senate first voted 63-34 Thursday to designate English as the …

McCain at New School: Honeymoon is Over  —  "I haven't heard anyone aroused about me speaking at the New School," John McCain said in April, defending his decision to address Jerry Falwell's Liberty University.  —  Nobody at all, except for virtually the entire crowd at the New School's …

Did Telcos Hire "Scapegoat" To Give NSA Phone Records?  —  A new Business Week article may help explain how AT&T and BellSouth can say they didn't help the NSA, despite the spy agency having millions of their records showing the call details of Americans using their networks.

U.S. Indictment for Big Law Firm in Class Actions  —  The nation's leading class-action securities law firm, Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, and two of its partners were charged yesterday with making more than $11 million in secret payments to three individuals who served as plaintiffs in more than 150 lawsuits.

Scalia Tells Congress to Mind Its Own Business  —  Justice Antonin Scalia rebuked fellow conservatives on Capitol Hill yesterday, saying they have gone too far in trying to prevent the Supreme Court from using foreign law in its constitutional rulings.  —  Scalia dissented vigorously …

The Rove Indictment Story as of Right Now  —  By Marc Ash,  —  On Saturday afternoon, May 13, 2006, TruthOut ran a story titled, "Karl Rove Indicted on Charges of Perjury, Lying to Investigators."  The story stated in part that top Bush aide Karl Rove had earlier that day been indicted on the charges set forth in the story's title.

The Inaccurate Taliban Offensive; Taliban military commander Mullah Dadullah reported captured  —  The news reports of a major Taliban offensive in southeastern Afghanistan are inaccurate, as Coalition offensives and Taliban attacks have been lumped together to give the impression of a coordinated Taliban assault in multiple provinces.

Illegals granted Social Security  —  The Senate voted yesterday to allow illegal aliens to collect Social Security benefits based on past illegal employment — even if the job was obtained through forged or stolen documents.  —  "There was a felony they were committing, and now they can't be prosecuted.

Federal appeals judge Edward R. Becker dies at 73  —  PHILADELPHIA - Edward R. Becker, a judge of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals known for his scholarly opinions and humble lifestyle, died Friday, according to the court.  He was 73.  —  The court's statement did not specify a cause …