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.

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.

GOP bill targets NY Times  —  House Republican leaders are expected to introduce a resolution today condemning The New York Times for publishing a story last week that exposed government monitoring of banking records.  —  The resolution is expected to condemn the leak and publication …

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.

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.

Court nixes part of Texas political map  —  WASHINGTON - 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.

Democrats vow to block pay raises until minimum wage increased  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A week after the GOP-led Senate rejected an increase to the minimum wage, Senate Democrats on Tuesday vowed to block pay raises for members of Congress until the minimum wage is increased.

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 …

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 …

Swing Nation  —  "This survey reflects the views of the "swingiest" of voters in the country—the voters likely to decide the outcome of the 2006 election cycle—in a mood demanding fundamental change in the direction of the country."  —  Executive Summary

A Single Person Could Swing an Election  —  Electronic Systems' Weaknesses May Be Countered With Audits, Report Suggests  —  To determine what it would take to hack a U.S. election, a team of cybersecurity experts turned to a fictional battleground state called Pennasota …