Transcript for July 2  —  MS. ANDREA MITCHELL: Our issues this Sunday: Partisan battles on Capitol Hill, Iraq, immigration, flag-burning, and a Supreme Court ruling against the president's claim of wartime powers, all setting the stage for the November midterm elections.

No One Gets a Blank Check  —  The tension between liberty and security is as old as the Republic—and as new as the latest high-tech listening device.  In wartime, that tension very often plays itself out as a battle between the White House and the press.  It is doing so again now.

Mexico presidential election - too close to call  —  TV Azteca's exit polling calls it a tie.  TV Azteca won't release actual data if it falls within the margin of error (+/-1.6% — according to TV Azteca).  —  I'll update this post as things develop.  —  UPDATE I, 8:48 pm: Per TV Azteca …

Interview With An Iraqi General  —  I wrote a story for Michael Yon's Frontline Forum a week ago about the town I am stationed in right now named Qayyarah.  Qayyarah is a model for other Iraqi cities because it was once a haven for terrorists but is now safe enough for anyone to travel around in without fear of terrorists.

Paper confirms Coulter plagiarism reported online first  —  "Conservative scribe Ann Coulter cribbed liberally in her latest book, Godless, according to a plagiarism expert," reports The New York Post today.  —  "John Barrie, the creator of a leading plagiarism-recognition system …

Hamas To Target Schools, Hospitals  —  Hamas has threatened to retaliate for Israel's response to ongoing Palestinian provocations by committing war crimes.  The spokesman for the putative political party's terrorist wing stated that Hamas will attack schools and hospitals unless Israel unconditionally removes itself from Gaza:

A New Partnership Binds Old Republican Rivals  —  John McCain and George W. Bush had notable differences in the 2000 Republican primary season, left.  But by Mr. Bush's re-election bid in 2004, the relationship had mellowed, at least publicly.  —  After years of competitive and often contentious dealings …

The Unstoppable Cuban Spring  —  By Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas  —  HAVANA — In March 2003 dozens of leaders of Cuba's Varela Project and other human rights defenders were detained, subjected to summary trials, condemned to many years in prison, and confined in the most inhumane and cruel conditions.

CLUELESS, CLUELESS, CLUELESS  —  I went to the trouble of making a mini-podcast of the portion of today's Meet the Press where Bill Bennett appeared along with Dana Priest of the Washington Post, Bill Safire, and others, talking about the LA and NY Times' outing of the terrorist finance tracking program.

Rice, Lavrov argue behind closed doors  —  Unedited audio feed provides glimpse into private diplomatic wrangling  —  MOSCOW - Intentionally or not, the Russians fed out audio of Thursday's closed lunch meeting between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov …

Nanotechnology 'fertile' for energy breakthrough  —  Thinking small may help solve one of the world's biggest problems — the need for alternative energy sources — according to scientists attending the first Energy Nanotechnology International Conference held June 26-28 at MIT.

Hardcover Business Best Sellers  —  THE WORLD IS FLAT, by Thomas L. Friedman.  (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $30.)  A columnist for the New York Times analyzes 21st-century economics and foreign policy and presents an overview of globalization trends.  —  FREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.

Don't Believe the Hype  —  Al Gore is wrong.  There's no "consensus" on global warming.  —  According to Al Gore's new film "An Inconvenient Truth," we're in for "a planetary emergency": melting ice sheets, huge increases in sea levels, more and stronger hurricanes, and invasions of tropical disease …

Atlantic City casinos next N.J. casualty  —  TRENTON, N.J. - Atlantic City's casinos were ordered to close Wednesday, the latest casualty of a state government shutdown that began after the Legislature failed to adopt a budget by its July 1 deadline.  —  The head of the Casino Control …