Bush, Blair to announce 'phased withdrawal' from Iraq  —  Michael Smith, a reporter for the London Sunday Times, broke the Downing Street Minutes in 2004.  —  LONDON — Tony Blair and George Bush will announce that they are to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq at a summit in Washington as early as this week, RAW STORY has learned.

Anti-war video bogus? (bumped)  —  I can't get this to load, but I'm putting the link out there anyway because someone sent me a long message this morning questioning its veracity.  Not just the claims that are made, either; I'm talking about mistakes in his uniform, etc.

Thieves Steal Personal Data of 26.5M Vets  —  WASHINGTON - Thieves took sensitive personal information on 26.5 million U.S. veterans, including Social Security numbers and birth dates, after a Veterans Affairs employee improperly brought the material home, the government said Monday.

Clinton Reveals Her iPod Playlist  —  NEW YORK — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has joined the iPod generation.  —  Motown tunes, classical music and the Rolling Stones are all on Clinton's iPod playlist, she told the New York Post for Monday editions.  —  "I've got everything — a total smorgasbord," Clinton said.

Something frighteningly ominous has been happening on the Internet lately: Google, without any prior explanation or notice, has been terminating its News relationship with conservative e-zines and web journals.  —  At first blush, one can easily ignore such business decisions by the most powerful company …

There Are Two Kinds Of People In the World  —  On the one hand, there are those who divide everyone in two groups of people, and on the other hand... well, you get the idea.  —  This seems to one of those strange days when the netroots are being blamed for everything.

Cheney's Guy  —  He's barely known outside Washington's corridors of power, but David Addington is the most powerful man you've never heard of.  Here's why:  —  One week after the September 11 terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush briefly turned his gaze away from the unfolding crisis …

PRESS RELEASE: AMIR TAHERI ADDRESSES QUERIES ABOUT DRESS CODE STORY  —  Regarding the dress code story it seems that my column was used as the basis for a number of reports that somehow jumped the gun.  —  As far as my article is concerned I stand by it.  —  The law has been passed …

Bush's faith worries Albright  —  LONDON, England (Reuters) — U.S. President George W. Bush has alienated Muslims around the world by using absolutist Christian rhetoric to discuss foreign policy issues, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says.  —  "I worked for two presidents …

Dodd Poised For Possible '08 Presidential Run  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Christopher J. Dodd said today he has "decided to do all the things that are necessary to prepare to seek the presidency in 2008."  —  The Connecticut Democrat will hire staff, raise money and travel around the country …

DaVinci Code as Parable of American Modernity  —  Despite the scowls and titters of the critics, the DaVinci Code did $77 million at the box office in the US, better than Tom Cruise pulled in MI3.  And the world-wide gross is already $224 million.  —  What in the world accounts for the popularity …

MCGREEVEY'S GAY ROAD THRILL  —  MEMOIR BARES HIGHWAY HOOKUPS  —  May 22, 2006 — Jim McGreevey shockingly admits that before he became governor of New Jersey, he'd have anonymous gay sex at Garden State highway rest stops.  —  "All I knew was that my behavior was getting crazier and crazier …

Drudge 'retracts' story on Howard Dean after receiving letter from DNC lawyer  —  Drudge story includes Raw Story quote  —  Conservative heavyweight Matt Drudge has all but retracted a story about Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean after receiving a letter from the DNC's lawyers, RAW STORY can report.

Response to McCain's Aide Mark Salter  —  At the risk of turning this into a battle between Mark Salter, Senator John McCain's staff-member, and myself, I'd like to comment briefly on his comment on the Huffington Post.  I'm sad to see that Mr. Salter intentionally misinterpreted my writing …

Whistle-Blower's Evidence, Uncut  —  Former AT&T technician Mark Klein is the key witness in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's class-action lawsuit against the telecommunications company, which alleges that AT&T cooperated in an illegal National Security Agency domestic surveillance program.

Protests, Applause Greet Rice at BC  —  A few students turned their backs but more stood to applaud as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice received an honorary degree and addressed graduates at Boston College on Monday.  —  After weeks of turmoil and anti-war protests over Rice's invitation …

How $45m secretly bought freedom of foreign hostages  —  Documents seen by The Times show three countries paid ransoms in spite of denying it in public  —  FRANCE, Italy and Germany sanctioned the payment of $45 million in deals to free nine hostages abducted in Iraq, according to documents seen by The Times.