IDF captures airstrip, gains foothold east of Rafah  —  Israeli fighter jets struck the northern Gaza Strip around 2 p.m. Wednesday, firing missiles at open areas.  The strike is part of the army's "pressure pot" tactic, meant to turn up pressure on Gaza by placement of troops and weapons fire with a minimum of casualties.

Justices Back Most G.O.P. Changes to Texas Districts  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld most of the Texas congressional map engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay but threw out part, saying some of the new boundaries failed to protect minority voting rights.

Piling On the New York Times With a Scoop  —  Story on Secret Program Further Rouses Critics  —  President Bush calls the conduct of the New York Times "disgraceful."  Vice President Cheney objects to the paper having won a Pulitzer Prize.  A Republican congressman wants the Times prosecuted.

Bush's Use of Authority Riles Senator  —  WASHINGTON, June 27 — Senators on the Judiciary Committee accused President Bush of an "unprecedented" and "astonishing" power grab on Tuesday for making use of a device that gave him the authority to revise or ignore more than 750 laws enacted since he became president.

Senate Rejects Flag Desecration Amendment  —  The Senate rejected by a single vote yesterday an effort to amend the Constitution to allow Congress to ban desecration of the American flag, after a two-day debate freighted with political calculations and sharp disputes over the limits of free speech.

Incumbent wins easily as Jacob's immigration challenge fizzles  —  LEHI - Incumbency overcame the anti-immigration wave in Utah's 3rd Congressional District Republican Primary.  —  Five-term Rep. Chris Cannon had a commanding lead over political newcomer John Jacob with 89 percent of the precincts reporting at press time.

AP INCORRECTLY CLAIMS SCIENTISTS PRAISE GORE'S MOVIE  —  The June 27, 2006 Associated Press (AP) article titled "Scientists OK Gore's Movie for Accuracy" by Seth Borenstein raises some serious questions about AP's bias and methodology.  —  AP chose to ignore the scores of scientists …

Parsing the Polls: Time for an Iraq Timeline?  —  Last week the U.S. Senate conducted a heated debate about the best course of action in Iraq.  Charges of "cut and run" and "lie and die" were traded between leaders of the two parties, but the most interesting element of the week …

Obama: Democrats Must Court Evangelicals  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Barack Obama chastised fellow Democrats on Wednesday for failing to "acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people," and said the party must compete for the support of evangelicals and other churchgoing Americans.

Bush jogs with wounded soldier  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush took a jog Tuesday with a soldier who lost part of both legs in Iraq, following through on a bedside promise even the president had doubts about at the time.  —  Despite a slight drizzle, Bush and Staff Sgt. Christian Bagge took …

Senator seeks tax on pimps, prostitutes  —  Grassley: 'It's a no-brainer to have the IRS go after sex traffickers'  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is hoping to stamp out the sex trade by taxing pimps and prostitutes, then jailing them when they don't pay.

Astrology  —  I'm certainly going to regret going here, but I've been somewhat amused or bemused by the scorn heaped on Jerome Armstrong over his foray into the world of astrology, with one commenter at Tapped asserting it makes him a "nutcase" and Garance implying that belief in astrology …