C.I.A. Closes Unit Focused on Capture of bin Laden  —  WASHINGTON, July 3 — The Central Intelligence Agency has closed a unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, intelligence officials confirmed Monday.  —  The unit, known as Alec Station …

Lieberman Plans Independent Bid if Primary Fails  —  HARTFORD, July 3 — Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut said on Monday that he would run as an independent Democratic candidate if he loses the state Democratic primary next month.  The announcement by Mr. Lieberman …

Mexico: One of the Most Electrifying Election Nights Ever  —  (Note: The following are Michael Barone's impressions from the results of the Mexican election last night.  Barone's detailed, blow-by-blow account of the returns can be found here.)  —  MEXICO CITY - This is one of the most astonishing …

Bush Directed Cheney To Counter War Critic  —  President Bush told the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case that he directed Vice President Dick Cheney to personally lead an effort to counter allegations made by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV that his administration …

Switzerland: Israel violating int'l law  —  GENEVA  —  Switzerland said Monday that Israel has been violating international law in its Gaza offensive by heavy destruction and endangering civilians in acts of collective punishment banned under the Geneva conventions on the conduct of warfare.

Replies to criticis of my Cheney-Rumsfeld vacation home blog - Monday, July 03, 2006 9:40 AM  —  Printable Send to a friend Comments  —  A fellow named Greenwald is having some fun with my post about the NY Times photos of Cheney's and Rumsfeld's vacation homes, which included Rumsfeld's security camera.

N. Korea warns of nuclear war if attacked  —  SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea will respond to a pre-emptive U.S. military attack with an "annihilating strike and a nuclear war," the state-run media said Monday, heightening its antagonistic rhetoric.  —  The Korean Central News Agency …

Dirty wars, dirty bombs  —  Plus, Slacker Friday letters  —  I am taking an extra day because I love my country, sooo much.  If people really miss me, I'll be on Al Franken's show around 1:30 p.m. ET.  —  I've got a new Think Again: The Best of Times . here.  —  We're not yet a police state.

A Dissident's Holiday  —  Have you ever noticed a certain hesitant quality to the expressions of patriotism by progressives or left-wingers?  —  The patriotism of the conservative goes unquestioned.  It's assumed that every politician on the right will wear a flag on his lapel …

Target any white person: the chilling guidelines for Bali suicide bombers  —  Any white person is a target.  Avoid hotels because they are too well protected.  Carry the bombs in small knapsacks to avoid suspicion.  And don't worry about your escape route because you will become a "martyr".

DISSENT IS PATRIOTIC, II  —  It was a small, but stalwart crowd outside the D.C. offices of the NY Times this afternoon.  Free Republic co-organizer Kristinn Taylor told me he wasn't aware of any Times reporters or photographers covering the event outside their doorstep.

The Great Pro-America Steak-Out  —  On Thursday we noted that Diane Wilson planned to start a hunger strike tomorrow: "I'm just a shrimper whose gonna stop eatin' to stop the war," she said in an interview with Code Pink.  Wilson urged others to join her, and said you don't even have to stop eating altogether …

Terror plots accelerating, warns police chief  —  Anti-terrorist police are tackling an "accelerating" number of plots by violent Muslim Jihadi extremists, according to Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer.  —  Scotland Yard anti-terrorism branch is involved in an "unprecedented" …

Ex-GI charged with rape of Iraqi, deaths  —  CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A former soldier discharged because of a "personality disorder" was accused in federal court Monday of executing an Iraqi family so he and other troops could rape and murder a young woman they had been eyeing at a traffic checkpoint.

Foam Mishap Won't Delay Shuttle Launch  —  CAPE CANAVERAL, July 3 — NASA engineers cleared space shuttle Discovery late Monday for an Independence Day launch after technicians used a makeshift inspection probe to show that the loss of a small piece of foam insulation from the external fuel tank did not pose a safety threat for liftoff.

Asheri killers surrender to IDF troops  —  Three Aksa Martyrs Brigades terrorists suspected of kidnapping and killing Itamar resident Eliyahu Asheri last week, surrendered to elite IDF troops in Ramallah early Tuesday morning after a three-hour standoff.  —  According to Army Radio …

Court intervenes in Calif. cross fight  —  SAN DIEGO - The U.S. Supreme Court intervened Monday to stop, at least for now, the removal of a large cross from city property in Southern California.  —  A lower court judge had ordered the city of San Diego to remove the cross or be fined $5,000 a day.