Israel warns: free soldier or PM dies  —  Middle East correspondent Martin Chulov  —  ISRAEL last night threatened to assassinate Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh if Hamas militants did not release a captured Israeli soldier unharmed.  —  The unprecedented warning was delivered …

Sulzberger Responds to 'WSJ' Editorial Slamming the 'NYT'  —  NEW YORK After remaining mum for the past week, even as controversy swirled around newspapers' revealing the banking records surveillance program, the Wall Street Journal editoral page weighed in today.

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: A (Tentative) Guide for the Perplexed  —  Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the recent Supreme Court case concerning the use of special military commissions to try Guantanamo prisoners, is a bear to boil down, accurately, in a single blog post.  It touches on a perfect storm of arcane questions …

Foreign Policy Tries a Little Shake, Rattle and Roll  —  MEMPHIS, June 30— In the annals of international diplomacy, it was not exactly Yalta.  But today's visit to Graceland — the ticky-tacky Elvis Presley mansion here — by President Bush and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan brought …

A note to our readers  —  On May 11, USA TODAY reported that the National Security Agency, with the cooperation of several of America's leading telecommunications companies, had compiled a database of domestic phone call records in an effort to monitor terrorist activity.

New UN rights body targets Israel  —  GENEVA  —  The new UN Human Rights Council voted Friday to make a review of alleged human rights abuses by Israel a permanent feature of every council session.  —  The resolution, which was sponsored by Islamic countries, was passed by a vote of 29-12, with five abstentions.

Superman eschews longtime patriot act  —  Nevermind Superman's sexual orientation.  Here's another identity-related question that is likely to spark controversy as the Man of Steel soars into theaters nationwide this Fourth of July weekend in Warner Bros.  Pictures' "Superman Returns": Is Superman still American?

Sept. 11 claim stirs UW probe  —  Instructor says U.S. planned the attacks to provoke war  —  mtwohey@journalsentinel.com  —  The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced Thursday that it would launch a review of an instructor who argues that the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks for its own benefit.

What a Country!  —  The Moose responds to the Hamdan decision.  —  As we approach Independence Day, the Moose waxes rhapsodic about the wonder and glory that is America.  He recalls the Russian-born comic Yakov Smirnoff who was hot back in the eighties.  When he was confronted with another marvel …

Kerik Pleads Guilty for Gifts and a Loan  —  Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner, pleaded guilty today to two misdemeanor charges as the result of accepting tens of thousands of dollars of gifts and a loan while he was a city official in the late 1990's.

N.Y. JUDGE WARS: HIDDEN '06 ISSUE  —  June 30, 2006 — AT least three of the seven seats on the Court of Appeals, the state's top court, will fall open early in the term of Gov. George Pataki's successor.  So either Democrat Eliot Spitzer (or maybe Tom Suozzi) or Republican John Faso …

Guardian finds Afghan witnesses US couldn't  —  Declan Walsh in Gardez  —  The US government said it could not find the men that Guantánamo detainee Abdullah Mujahid believes could help set him free.  The Guardian found them in three days.  —  Two years ago the US military invited Mr Mujahid …

House lifts offshore drilling ban  —  WASHINGTON - Congress has taken a major step toward allowing oil and gas drilling in coastal waters that have been off limits for a quarter-century.  —  Still, a battle looms in the Senate over the issue.  And the Bush administration's support for the legislation …