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.

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 …

ANTI-WAR POSEUR FRONTED OUT AT HOT AIR  —  The mighty Allah at Hot Air asked if this anti-war video was fake, and the answer is OH YEAH!  —  This spindly little weasel wouldn't have made it through 10 seconds of RIP, let alone Ranger school or life in a Ranger Batt.

HILLARY IPODHAM CLINTON  —  POLITICAL PLAYER OFFERS PEEK AT HER SONG LIST  —  May 22, 2006 — WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton doesn't need "Respect" - she's already got it at the top of her iPod playlist.  —  The surprisingly tech-savvy Clinton mixes Aretha Franklin's 1967 landmark smash hit …

Data about millions of U.S. veterans stolen  —  Burglar reportedly took Veterans Affairs disk containing personal info  —  WASHINGTON - A computer disk with personal data of about 26.5 million U.S. veterans was stolen from the home of a Veterans Affairs analyst, the federal department said Monday.

MSNBC: Rove's legal team expects decision 'at any time'  —  MSNBC's David Shuster declared Monday evening that Karl Rove's legal team expects Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to announce a decision "at any time" in the ongoing CIA leak investigation and that new documents put Cheney's former chief of staff in the hot seat.

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 …

Coalition: Attacks Kill Up to 80 Taliban  —  KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A U.S.-led nighttime airstrike against a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan killed up to 80 suspected rebels, military officials said Monday.  The local governor and a doctor said 17 civilians also were killed.

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.

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 …

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 …

New Study of Levees Faults Design and Construction  —  NEW ORLEANS, May 21 — Most of the major breaches in the New Orleans levee system during Hurricane Katrina were caused by flaws in design, construction and maintenance — and parts of the system could still be dangerous even after the current round …

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.

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.

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 …

Justice prays for a Prez in 'real trouble'  —  Just how bad are things for President Bush?  —  Pretty bad, I'd say, if even Clarence Thomas is worried about him.  —  The other night at a Washington book party for the President's sister, Doro Bush Koch, the Supreme Court justice arrived with his wife …

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 …