Senate rejects Iraq redeployment motions  —  Both Democratic proposals easily defeated  —  Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., trying to convince his colleagues to approve his Iraq troop redeployment resolution, failed by a vote of 86-13.  The resolution of fellow Democrat, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., faired better, but still lost, 60-39.

Ex-Bush aide convicted in D.C. corruption case  —  Safavian found guilty on 4 counts of obstruction, making false statements  —  WASHINGTON - A jury Tuesday convicted a former Bush administration official of four counts of lying and obstructing justice in the first trial to be held in connection …

Study Says Earth's Temp at 400-Year High  —  The Earth is the hottest it has been in at least 400 years, probably even longer.  The National Academy of Sciences, reaching that conclusion in a broad review of scientific work requested by Congress, reported Thursday that the …

Army takes older recruits  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, aiming to make its recruiting goals amid the Iraq war, raised its maximum enlistment age by another two years on Wednesday, while the Army Reserve predicted it will miss its recruiting target for a second straight year.

Legislate Learning English?  If Only It Were So Easy  —  PRESIDENT BUSH'S plan to give longstanding illegal immigrants a path to citizenship would require them to learn English as a sign that they accept American culture.  The conservative base of the Republican Party considers any policy …

The Post Picks Up Hastert's Real-Estate Deal  —  The Washington Post picks up on the profit taken by Dennis Hastert and his partners in the Little Rock Trust that came from $207 million in federal highway funding, a traffic corridor championed by Hastert himself and funded through pork-barrel earmarks.

Rep. Murtha: Pennsylvania's Embarrassment  —  Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pa), imagines himself to be the scourge of the hawks in the Bush administration.  Many journalists do, too, because they keep inviting him to appear on talk shows.  —  So why were the targets of Mr. Murtha's wrath doubled …

Hamas: Islam will conquer US and Britain  —  Hamas Video  —  A Hamas video just released on their web site focuses on the broader Palestinian Islamic ideology, promising the eventual conquering and subjugation of Christian countries under Islam.  The way Israel "ran" from Gaza after terror …

State adds weblogs to off-limits sites for state employees  —  FRANKFORT, Ky. - State employees will no longer be able to access a political weblog that has criticized Gov. Ernie Fletcher and other Kentucky politicians.  —  But Mark Nickolas, operator of the bluegrassreport site …

Net Neutrality: Crunch Time  —  It's time to hit the phones, everyone.  I am told that the Senate Commerce Committee will be doing bill mark-up today, and that the net neutrality vote will be pushed off until probably Tuesday.  —  And that we are one vote short at the moment for killing the Stevens bill in the Committee.

Close Guantanamo?  —  THE MILITARY detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has become the focus of global protests against U.S. human rights violations during the war on terrorism.  Images of the hooded, jumpsuited prisoners who were brought there in 2002 still pervade the world's media …

Thinking Outside The Blog  —  Judging from the amount of publicity they gleaned, the liberal bloggers who gathered in Las Vegas recently for the first annual YearlyKos convention represent the cutting edge of thinking in the Democratic Party.  —  But the blogs I have scanned are heavier …

PERRY: STRIKE KOREA NOW, GET INTEL LATER  —  Clinton defense secretary William Perry is ready to attack North Korea, now. … But there's a teeny-tiny fact Perry seems to have overlooked: We have no idea, really, whether North Korea is preparing a missile.  Or what that missile is capable of doing.