Senate Rejects Call for Iraq Withdrawal  —  WASHINGTON, June 15 — The Senate overwhelmingly rejected a call this afternoon for withdrawal of most American combat troops from Iraq by the end of the year as debates in both houses of Congress mixed high emotion with calculated maneuvering.In the House …

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.

Maliki Aide Who Discussed Amnesty Leaves Job  —  Premier Disavows Remarks; Egyptian Seen Replacing Zarqawi  —  BAGHDAD, June 15 — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office on Thursday accepted the resignation of an aide who had told a reporter that Maliki was considering a limited amnesty …

Court Backs No-Knock Search  —  A divided Supreme Court ruled today that evidence can be used against a defendant even when seized in violation of a long-standing rule requiring a knock on the door before executing a search warrant.  —  The 5-4 decision, written by Justice Antonin Scalia …

Sacrificing Our Troops on the Altar of Republican Politics  —  Leave it to the Porcine Draft Dodger—Karl Rove—to impugn the character of combat veterans.  Can't blame him for trotting out the same playbook that worked so well in 2004 against the candidacy of John Kerry.  If it worked once it should work again.

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.

Zarqawi Replacement: Trained Professional  —  Alexis Debat Reports:  —  The mystery man identified by U.S. authorities as the successor to Abu Musab al Zarqawi is an Egyptian with close ties to Osama bin Laden's No. 2 man, Jordanian intelligence officials tell ABC News.

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

Iran would 'use nuclear defense'  —  TEHERAN, Iran  —  Iran's defense minister on Thursday vowed that his country would "use nuclear defense as a potential" if "threatened by any power."  —  Speaking following a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Hassan Ali Turkmani in Teheran on Thursday …

U.S. 'Stagflation' Worries Mount  —  Inflation data and a possible Fed rate hike stir fears of prices rising amid a languishing economy.  —  With inflation heating up amid the prospect of another interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve, some economists said Wednesday they were beginning …

Netroots Survey Results, Part One  —  Cross Psoted on Dailykos, where it could use a rec or two  —  This is the survey you paid for—the first survey conducted under BlogPac's new management.  The results were already released at Yearly Kos, and parts of them have appeared in multiple news outlets.