Iran eyes badges for Jews  —  Law would require non-Muslim insignia  —  Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.

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 …

'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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

The Other Side of the Green Line  —  RAMALLAH - I rode in an Israeli taxi with Palestinian journalist Sufian Taha from the American Colony Hotel to the Qalandia checkpoint on the road to Ramallah, capital of nascent Palestine, in the hills of the West Bank over Jerusalem.

Insiders: Richard Armitage Will NOT Be Indicted  —  Bobby Ray Inman's claims are "BS", claimed one very prominent Washington insider after reading TWN's report on Inman's claim that Richard Armitage would be indicted in the Valerie Plame Wilson outing probe.

McCain and the Base Truth  —  All successful politicians must have at least some talent for telling lies about what's in their hearts and convincing people that it is the truth.  But Sen. John McCain has a unique genius for telling the truth from his heart and making people believe that he is lying.

Nominee Has Ability To Bear Bad News  —  Some Senators Unsure He Will Use It With Bush  —  Of all the unpleasant tasks Gen. Michael V. Hayden will face if confirmed as CIA director, perhaps the most important will be bringing the president bad news.  —  Or as Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski …