Schumer: Dems Have Their 8th  —  At a briefing for the Washington, D.C. political press corps today, DSCC chair Chuck Schumer was in a mood to marvel and brag.  Last night, with the victory of Jim Webb, Democrats finally found their eighth competitive Senate contest.

EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon Orders U.S. Reporters to Exit Guantanamo  —  NEW YORK In the aftermath of the three suicides at the notorious Guantanamo prison facility in Cuba last Saturday, reporters with the Los Angeles Times and the Miami Herald were ordered by the office of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to leave the island today.

Democrats in disarray as Bush basks in glow of Iraq trip  —  US President George W. Bush's triumphant return from his unannounced visit in Iraq found opposition Democrats more divided than ever on US policy in the wartorn country, and how best to capitalize on administration missteps there.

House Faces the Dumbest Bill of the Year (So Far): A $2.10 Increase in the Minimum Wage  —  House Republicans have one last chance to demonstrate that they have any remaining intelligence or principles.  On June 13, the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would increase …

It's 'Putdown With Keith Olbermann'  —  Now that Dan Abrams has given up his MSNBC show to run the third-place cable news outlet, he might want to focus on the rising tensions between two of his prime-time personalities: Keith Olbermann and Rita Cosby.  —  Olbermann, whose …

Top Bush Adviser to Step Down  —  Michael J. Gerson, one of President Bush's most trusted advisers and author of nearly all of his most famous public words during the past seven years, plans to step down in the next couple weeks in a decision that colleagues believe will leave a huge hole in the White House at a critical period.

Bombing kills 4 amid Baghdad crackdown  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb killed four people and clashes broke out in two Sunni Arab strongholds Wednesday after tens of thousands of Iraqi troops fanned out across Baghdad in a major security crackdown aimed at ending the violence that has devastated the capital.

THE CAMP PENDLETON 8  —  ***update: We've captured and posted the video of Hillary getting booed as she asks progressives to support the troops.  Guess they won't be helping out the Camp Pendleton 8...LGF asks: What's wrong with Marine brass?  My column this week calls attention to the Camp Pendleton 8 …

Press Conference of the President  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.  Thank you.  I've just returned from Baghdad, and I was inspired to be able to visit the capital of a free and democratic Iraq.  —  It was a pleasure to meet face-to-face with the Prime Minister.

A Prison We Need to Escape  —  When I hear U.S. officials describe the suicides of three Muslim prisoners at Guantanamo Bay last Saturday as "asymmetric warfare" and "a good PR move," I know it's time to close that camp — not just because of what it's doing to the prisoners but because of how it is dehumanizing the American captors.

Boehner On The Contrasts GOPers Will Try To Draw With Dems  —  House Maj. Leader John Boehner (R-OH), in a "confidential" memo to his caucus, previews the distinctions GOPers will draw with Dems as the debate over Iraq gets underway.  The House will consider a resolution equating the war in Iraq with the broader war on terror.

An English-Only Beef in a Cheesesteak Joint?  Comin' Right Up  —  PHILADELPHIA — The sign contains just eight words and is hardly big enough to wrap around a cheesesteak.  But here in South Philadelphia, home of the cheesesteak, the sign that Joey Vento posted at Geno's Steaks speaks volumes.

The Kos Establishment OR Kaus vs. Kos  —  Mickey Kaus finds the treatment Mark Warner got at YearlyKos questionable — as well he should.  As I reported over at the New York Sun's blog, Warner was the only one of the four prospective 2008 candidates who got to address the entire Kos convention …

RUDY GOES NUCLEAR  —  FORMULA FOR '08 SUCCESS  —  June 14, 2006 — A small gathering in Mid town yesterday got a sneak peek at Rudy Giuliani's formula as he gears up for a likely 2008 presidential run.  That formula: one-third leadership, one-third technocratic centrist and one-third radical conservative reformer.

Dennis Hastert's Real Estate Investments  —  Written by Bill Allison on June 14, 2006 - 2:16pm.  —  House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert has used an Illinois trust to invest in real estate near the proposed route of the Prairie Parkway, a highway project for which he's secured $207 million in earmarked appropriations.

Scientists respond to Gore's warnings of climate catastrophe  —  "The Inconvenient Truth" is indeed inconvenient to alarmists  —  "Scientists have an independent obligation to respect and present the truth as they see it," Al Gore sensibly asserts in his film "An Inconvenient Truth" …

ICE Arrests About 2,000 Illegal Immigrants  —  A swarm of federal immigration agents sped silently, headlights off, down a Boston side street early Wednesday and surrounded an apartment house.  —  "Police!  Policia!  Police!" yelled Daniel Monico, a deportation officer …