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.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 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.

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.

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 …