Congress launches into new Iraq debate  —  WASHINGTON - The House erupted in impassioned election-year debate over the Iraq war on Thursday, Republicans defending the conflict as key to winning the global struggle against terrorism while Democrats excoriated President Bush and his policies.

Police don't have to knock, justices say  —  Alito's vote breaks 4-4 tie in police search case  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that police armed with a warrant can barge into homes and seize evidence even if they don't knock, a huge government victory that was decided by President Bush's new justices.

American deaths in Iraq reach 2,500 mark  —  WASHINGTON - American deaths since the invasion of Iraq have reached 2,500, marking a grim milestone in the wake of recent events that President Bush hopes will reverse the war's unpopularity at home.  —  The latest death was announced as Congress …

Rep. Jefferson loses Democratic caucus vote  —  Black Caucus leader cites racial unfairness  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — With members of the Congressional Black Caucus crying double standard, House Democrats met behind closed doors Thursday and voted to strip Rep. William Jefferson of his seat on the Ways and Means Committee.

Spinning Zarqawi  —  NOW THAT ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWI IS DEAD, perhaps the American press can also lay to rest the biggest myth about the mass murderer: that he had nothing to do with Saddam's regime prior to the war.  It is not clear where this claim originated, but it is widely accepted.

What's Black and White and Red All Over?  —  More ink equals more blood, claim two economists who say that newspaper coverage of terrorist incidents leads directly to more attacks.  —  It's a macabre example of win-win in what economists call a "common-interest game," say Bruno S. Frey …

Great Moments in Senate Fashion  —  Rick Santorum (R-PA) pulls off the tricky Great-Gatsby-meets-My-Little- Pony look.

Newly released emails suggest Army Corps lied about Cheney role in Halliburton contract  —  New documents obtained by a conservative watchdog group suggest that the US Army Corp of Engineers may have publicly lied regarding the involvement of the Vice President's office in awarding …

Principles Keith can swear by  —  Keith Olbermann's vacation isn't going so well.  —  He was forced to apologize yesterday after more of his E-mails found their way to my inbox and exposed the host of MSNBC's "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" as insulting and frequently obscene …

A Watershed Moment: Media Use Coulter to Suggest Blogs Are Impotent  —  Anybody who watched Ann Coulter's June 14th appearance on the Tonight Show had to realize that it was a watershed moment in the war between the establishment media and the progressive netroots, a community fresh off the successful YearlyKos convention.

Press Briefing by Tony Snow  —  MR. SNOW: All right.  First let me begin with a statement by the President on the passage of H.R. 4939, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill for the war on terror, Hurricane Katrina recovery and other purposes.  —  "I applaud those members of Congress …

Democrats Behave Like Sunni Insurgents  —  I've been wondering why there is something familiar about the behavior of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, and suddenly it dawned on me that we have our own similar insurgency right here at home — it is called the Democrat Party.  —  Think about it.