Democrats set to call for phased pullout  —  Congressional debate on war enters 2d week  —  WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats, seizing on public discontent over the war in Iraq, will offer legislation this week calling for a phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq and a shifting of forces …

Al Qaeda-linked group claims it kidnapped 2 U.S. soldiers  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — An al Qaeda-affiliated group on Monday claimed it kidnapped two U.S. soldiers south of Baghdad, although the captives were not named.  —  The group — Mujahedeen Shura Council — made the unverified claim in a statement posted on a Web site.

Doubts About Duke  —  The prosecutor insists his rape case is strong.  One big problem: the facts thus far.  —  June 29, 2006 issue - The order had come, signed by a judge, requiring that the Duke lacrosse team give DNA samples.  The prosecutor was trying to identify the three players …

Zoellick Leaving State Department, to Join Goldman (Update1)  —  June 19 (Bloomberg) — Robert Zoellick resigned as deputy U.S. secretary of state and said he will take a job with Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., the world's biggest securities firm by market value.

Telco Argument Implodes During DC Debate  —  Amazon.com's Paul Misener handily defeated Mike McCurry — co-Chair of the telecom front group "Hands off the Internet" — in a debate over Net Neutrality at George Washington University on Friday.  —  Watch the segment in question, posted at PoliticsTV.

Hastert Won't Fess Up To Honest Graft  —  Last week, we noted House Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-IL) sweet real estate deal - a deal that, as many TPM readers pointed out, Tammany Hall pol George Washington Plunkitt would have dismissed as " honest graft."  "I seen my opportunities and I took 'em," Hastert might say.

NBC's chief confident on 'Today,' Brian Williams vs. Couric  —  E-mail Peter Johnson at pjohnson@usatoday.com  —  Just two weeks after CBS Evening News-bound Katie Couric said a tearful goodbye to NBC's Today, her old boss now sings the praises of her successor, Meredith Vieira …

Lieberman Will Primary  —  MIDDLETOWN — Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman said today that he will not withdraw from the Aug. 8 Democratic primary , but he left open the possibility of running in November as a petitioning candidate if he loses the primary.  —  "I will be in the Democratic primary.

Trying to Get Even  —  Democrats keep betting on failure in Iraq.  —  During last week's congressional debate over the war in Iraq, critics of the Bush administration's policy made three arguments: that President Bush more or less lied when claiming Saddam Hussein was a threat to the U.S. …

Decisions: Clean Water Act reach limited  —  A plurality of the Supreme Court concluded on Monday that the Clean Water Act's protection of "waters of the United States" is limited to those bodies of water that are "permanent, standing or continously flowing," and thus does not embrace channels through …

Louisiana gov. signs law that would ban abortions  —  NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Louisiana Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco signed into law a ban on most abortions, which would be triggered if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its 1973 ruling legalizing the procedure, a spokesman said on Saturday.

Inland Empire Pays Firm for D.C. Clout  —  Why local entities hired the concern when Rep. Jerry Lewis has long delivered U.S. funds to his district isn't clear.  The lobbyist is one of his key donors.  —  WASHINGTON — Growing up in the Inland Empire, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) …

'Mlle Thatcher' to run for a seat in parliament  —  Sabine Hérold, who sprang to fame when she led a protest movement against French workers' readiness to go on strike, now hopes to exploit growing disillusionment with her country's political elite by winning a seat in parliament.

Web Users Open the Gates  —  A decade after major news providers such as The Washington Post began publishing on the Internet, they are finally beginning to ask the right questions about what the Web can do for them and their readers — and to realize how disruptive web technology is to traditional journalism.

The Party of Retreat and Defeat  —  As the fall elections approach, the Democrats have formally unveiled their platform for the war in Iraq: snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  —  At the very moment that documents captured from the Zarqawi death site indicate that Al Qaeda feels …