Lieberman To Start Petition Drive  —  Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman is to announce today he will petition for a place on the November ballot as an "independent Democrat," giving him a chance to stay alive politically should he lose an Aug. 8 primary for the Democratic nomination.

Mexican Presidential Rivals Both Claim Win in Tight Vote  —  MEXICO CITY, July 2 — Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Felipe Calderón each claimed victory in Mexico's presidential election late Sunday night, even though the country's electoral commission said the race …

Statement demands prisoner release by 6:00 a.m. Tuesday  —  Prime Minister Ehud Olmert officially rejected on Monday an ultimatum released Monday morning by the kidnappers of IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit that set a 6:00 a.m. Tuesday deadline for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Antecedents  —  On my way out for a walk with the tyke, but before I go, I figured I'd point you to this latest in a string of defensive NYT pieces attempting to justify the leaking of classified info they knew to be legal, subject to appropriate oversight, and, importantly, effective …

Britons tire of cruel, vulgar US: poll  —  LONDON (AFP) - People in Britain view the United States as a vulgar, crime-ridden society obsessed with money and led by an incompetent president whose Iraq policy is failing, according to a newspaper poll.  —  The United States is no longer a symbol …

We Need Fewer Secrets  —  The U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) turns 40 tomorrow, the day we celebrate our independence.  But this anniversary will not be a day of celebration for the right to information in our country.  Our government leaders have become increasingly obsessed with secrecy.

Al-Zarqawi's cell phone reportedly yields surprises  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had the phone numbers of senior Iraqi officials stored in his cell phone, according to an Iraqi legislator.  —  Waiel Abdul-Latif, a member of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's party …

What is left of Malkin, Hinderaker and Horowitz's credibility?  —  (updated below)  —  As I documented at length this weekend, Michelle Malkin, John Hinderaker, Red State, David Horowitz and many others of that sort spent the weekend engaged in the most vicious and self-evidently misguided attacks …

On Right and Left, a Push for Government Openness  —  WASHINGTON, July 2 — Exasperated by his party's failure to cut government spending, Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, is seeking cyberhelp.  —  Mr. Coburn wants to create a public database, searchable over the Internet …

Crack Is Found in Shuttle's Foam Insulation  —  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 3 —Inspectors found a crack in the foam insulation of the space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank early today.  NASA managers are meeting to determine whether it will affect a planned liftoff Tuesday afternoon, according to the space agency.

Congress Will Override Supreme Court On Tribunals  —  Congress appears ready to overrule the Supreme Court and establish military tribunals for detainess in the war on terror, allowing for the most efficient process possible to determine the culpability of terrorists captured in the act.

Preteen mag accused of military pitching  —  PETERBOROUGH, N.H. - Parents and teachers are complaining that the latest issue of a popular magazine for preteens amounts to little more than an early recruitment pitch for the Army.  —  Cobblestone magazine, which is put out by Carus Publishing in Peterborough …

THEY ALREADY KNEW THE COLONISTS WERE FED UP  —  (Courtesy of reader Les Baitzer.)

Details Emerge in Alleged Army Rape, Killings  —  BAGHDAD, July 2 — Fifteen-year-old Abeer Qasim Hamza was afraid, her mother confided in a neighbor.  —  As pretty as she was young, the girl had attracted the unwelcome attention of U.S. soldiers manning a checkpoint that the girl …