Zarqawi: Skimpy clothes found  —  Hibhib - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was accompanied by women who wore skimpy clothes and read magazines on current affairs and militant propaganda, an inspection of the house he was killed in showed on Saturday.  —  The remains of Zarqawi's isolated "safe house" …

U.S.: 3 Guantanamo inmates commit suicide  —  WASHINGTON - Three detainees at Guantanamo Bay apparently committed suicide amid protests of the U.S. military prison by inmates, the Defense Department said Saturday.  They were the first reported deaths at the controversial detention center …

Marine Says Rules Were Followed  —  Sergeant Describes Hunt for Insurgents in Haditha, Denies Coverup  —  A sergeant who led a squad of Marines during the incident in Haditha, Iraq, that left as many as 24 civilians dead said his unit did not intentionally target any civilians …

Reid calls for more intelligence oversight  —  WASHINGTON - Americans won't be fooled by future intelligence failures if Congress will enact stiffer reporting requirements for the president and the intelligence community, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said Saturday.

Why Ambitious Pols Make Their Pilgrimage to Yearly Kos  —  From Wes Clark to Mark Warner, they've gone to Vegas to get into the swing of the blog thing  —  The bulletin arrives halfway into the panel on progressive candidates, an email missive I read over the shoulder of the guy in front of me …

LIEBERMAN'S 'OPEN OPTIONS'....This week, a Quinnipiac poll showed Sen. Joe Lieberman leading his Democratic primary rival, Ned Lamont, but not by the margin he'd like.  The three-term incumbent, facing a political novice, was ahead 55% to 40%.  —  Given the circumstances …

Soccer With a Side of Slavery  —  "It is truly scandalous.  People are talking about women, importing them to satisfy the base instincts of people associated with football.  It is humiliating enough for me that football is linked with alcohol and violence.  But this is worse.

Iraqi Foreign Minister: Terrorists Targeting Civilians, Not U.S.  —  In an interview with the Khaleej Times, Hoshyar Zebari, Iraqi Foreign Minister, said this about the targeting of civilians in Iraq:  —  'The US forces do not kill civilians.  Yes, civilians got killed in Haditha …

Lucrative Life in Revolving Door for Capitol Hill Staff Member and Lobbyist  —  WASHINGTON, June 9 — For months, Jeffrey S. Shockey has seemed to exemplify the revolving door between K Street and Capitol Hill.  —  He left a job with the House Appropriations Committee in 1999 for a partnership …

Jack the cat chases black bear up tree  —  WEST MILFORD, N.J. - A black bear picked the wrong yard for a jaunt, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree — twice.  —  Jack, a 15-pound orange and white cat, keeps a close vigil on his property, often chasing small animals …

Witness the Leading  —  Top biographies of top dogs.  —  1. "Churchill: A Study in Greatness" by Geoffrey Best (Hambledon & London, 2001).  —  On the night after the attacks of Sept. 11, I remember getting home at about 2:30 a.m. and seeing on my nightstand a book I had been reading …

Option Valuation: Mark Thoma v. the National Review  —  Thomas E. Nugent & Robert F. Clarke defend CEO compensation in part by claiming that the granting of employee stock options is like handing out free money.  He notes the compensation package of the retired chairman of Exxon Mobil, Lee Raymond:

Wind-Power Projects Halted  —  Supporters See Political Motive Behind Defense Dept. Study  —  CHICAGO — More than 130 wind turbines are proposed for the hilltops of central Wisconsin, but that project and at least 11 others have been halted by the Defense Department as it studies whether …

Matalin Defends Coulter's Attack on 9/11 Widows  —  Yesterday on Imus, Mary Matlin — a former counselor to Vice President Cheney and an influential strategist for the White House — defended Ann Coulter's vicious attack on the 9/11 widows.  (In a new book, Coulter says the widows are "enjoying their husband's deaths.")