EXCLUSIVE: No Deal for Karl Rove  —  Sometimes people just don't know when to cry "uncle."  I do.  I asked Robert Luskin this morning if Karl Rove has made a deal with Fitzgerald.  His response: … Which is exactly what Luskin told me weeks ago.  It's over, folks.  Karl Rove will not be charged with a crime.

Webb Wins Democratic Nomination In Virginia  —  Ex-Republican to Face Allen for U.S. Senate  —  Virginia Democrats yesterday chose Vietnam War hero James Webb to challenge Sen. George Allen (R), siding with their party's national leadership, which had declared the former Republican …

Mainstream Media Disgrace of the Month: Hadji Girl  —  We've been watching this develop, as earlier today the Council on American Islamic Relations sent out one of their infamous email alerts about an amateur music video of a song about a Marine lured into an ambush by a "Hadji girl."

President Bush Visits Troops in Iraq  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all.  Thank you for the warm welcome.  Thought I'd stop in to say "hello."  (Laughter and applause.)  I bring greetings from a grateful nation.  (Applause.)  I thank you for your sacrifice, I thank you for your service, I thank you for making history.

Hastert Deals Blow to Immigration Bill  —  Hopes for a quick compromise on immigration were dealt a blow Tuesday after House Speaker Dennis Hastert said he wanted to take a "long look" at a Senate bill offering possible citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants.

Bush May Meet Vow To Halve The Deficit Three Years Early  —  Aided by surging tax receipts, President Bush may make good on his pledge to cut the deficit in half in 2006 — three years early.  —  Tax revenues are running $176 billion, or 12.9%, over last year, the Treasury Department said Monday.

Letters policy  —  Here is the policy that Editorial Board editors use in selecting letters to the editor for publication in The Arizona Republic:  —  1. Letters must be signed.  All letters must be verified prior to publication.  We don't publish unsigned letters.  —  2. Clarity, conciseness of language.

Why Unions?  Labor 101  —  With the interest shown and questions raised in yesterday's post about labor and YearlyKos, I thought I'd follow up with this adaptation of a series of posts I wrote on my own blog a number of years ago.  It starts with a personal story from my first job …

Panel: Churchill should be fired  —  Ward Churchill, the professor who called some of the World Trade Center victims "little Eichmanns," should be fired because of "repeated and deliberate" infractions of scholarship rules, a University of Colorado committee said today.

U.S. court tosses lawsuit over "In God We Trust"  —  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. district court judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a California atheist against the U.S. government for its use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on its coins and currency.

A Bush Aide's Blunt Words  —  New Adviser Pulled No Punches in His Magazine Pieces  —  Bill Clinton is a "virtuoso deceiver" and Hillary Rodham Clinton a "true chameleon" guilty of "self-serving behavior, comparative radicalism, and dubious personal morality."  —  Al Gore is a "mad dog" known to "foam at the mouth."

Oil, Politics and Bloodshed Corrupt an Iraqi City  —  BASRA, Iraq — Politics, once seen as a solution to the problems of a society broken by years of brutal single-party rule, has paralyzed the heart of Iraq's south.  —  This once-quiet city of riverside promenades was among the most receptive to the American invasion.

Surprise for Reporters: Bush to Baghdad  —  NEW YORK President George W. Bush, seeking to bolster support for Iraq's new government and the U.S. war effort at home, made a surprise visit to Iraq on Tuesday to meet Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.  —  The trip was known only to a handful …