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 …

GOP Seeks Advantage In Ruling On Trials  —  National Security Is Likely Rallying Cry, Leaders Indicate  —  Republicans yesterday looked to wrest a political victory from a legal defeat in the Supreme Court, serving notice to Democrats that they must back President Bush on how to try suspects …

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 …

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.

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 …

Minnesota Senate: Toss-up, Still  —  Klobuchar (D) 47%, Kennedy (R) 44%  —  With only 7% of voters undecided, DFL county attorney Amy Klobuchar continues to hold a narrow edge over Republican Representative Mark Kennedy in the race to succeed Senator Mark Dayton (D), who is retiring after a single term.

How to Create a Liberal Bestseller  —  As a book publisher, it is the best phone call you can make to an author: "Hi, there.  Just wanted to let you know that your book has hit the New York Times bestseller list!"  I made that call to Glenn Greenwald, author of How Would a Patriot Act? …

Weekends With the President's Men  —  There is a lens in the birdhouse at the driveway of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's home at St. Michaels, Md.  —  JUST an hour and a half from Washington, across the 4.3-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge, or less than 30 minutes in a government-issue Chinook helicopter …

Medicaid Rule Called A Threat To Millions  —  Proof of Citizenship Needed for Benefits  —  A Medicaid rule takes effect tomorrow that will require more than 50 million poor Americans to prove their citizenship or lose their medical benefits or long-term care.

Frist: Europe missile-defense site needed  —  WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist urged President Bush on Friday to intensify efforts to put interceptor missiles at a site in Europe to protect against potential attacks from Iran.  —  "The threat from Iran is only going to grow in the years ahead.

EXTRA: Our End-Of-The-Half-Year Spotlight  —  The Extended Play version, with a bit more analysis as to just why the first 6 of '06 have been so good to one '08er.  —  SPOTLIGHT  —  Benchmark Friday  —  It's the end of the 6th month of '06.  A great time to create an artificial benchmark about WH '08!