A Driven President Faces a World of Crises  —  From deteriorating security in Afghanistan and Somalia to mayhem in the Middle East, confrontation with Iran and eroding relations with Russia, the White House suddenly sees crisis in every direction.  —  North Korea's long-range missile test Tuesday …

Ken Lay's Last Evasion  —  To Some, CEO Is Cheating Them One More Time  —  Ah, Kenneth Lay of Enron: America hardly knew you before your trial, but learned after your big-hammer jury conviction that you had left countless suckers broke, employees cheated and stockholders betrayed.

N.Y. Court Says Lawmakers Should Consider Gay Marriage  —  The New York Court of Appeals ruled this morning that the state Constitution does not guarantee a right to marriage for same-sex couples, and that state lawmakers, not the courts, are better suited to consider the issue.

Judge's ruling keeps DeLay on ballot  —  AUSTIN - A federal judge ruled today that Republicans cannot replace former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on the ballot for the 22nd Congressional District race.  —  U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, a Republican appointee, ruled that DeLay must appear …

A Taliban Past, and a Cloudy Yale Future  —  A student at Yale University who was once a roving ambassador for the Taliban regime in Afghanistan has been denied admission to a degree-granting program at Yale, one of the student's financial supporters said yesterday.

Fallen Soldier Gets a Bronze Star but No Pagan Star  —  At the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in the small town of Fernley, Nev., there is a wall of brass plaques for local heroes.  But one space is blank.  There is no memorial for Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart.  —  That's because Stewart was a Wiccan …

Bloggers battle old-school media for political clout  —  Online journals gaining greater influence, scrutiny  —  WASHINGTON — When a writer for The New Republic, the 92-year-old doyen of elite Washington opinion journals, accused the nation's most prominent political blogger of using …

IDF soldier, 21 Palestinians killed in IDF raid in north Gaza  —  An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed Thursday afternoon during an Israel Defense Forces operation in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia.  —  First Lieutenent Yehuda Bessal was seriously wounded when shot …

Consultant Breached FBI's Computers  —  Frustrated by Bureaucracy, Hacker Says Agents Approved and Aided Break-Ins  —  A government consultant, using computer programs easily found on the Internet, managed to crack the FBI's classified computer system and gain the passwords of 38,000 employees …

Ann and Barbara  —  (Update: I'm hearing that Boxer might be going a little wobbly on her decision to stump for Joe.  If she were to issue a statement today saying she is not coming to Connecticut, that would just be a wonderful thing and she would be deserving of all praise for supporting women's rights with her decision.

Iraq How-to Manual Directed Arab Military Operatives In Afghanistan  —  An Arab regime, possibly Iraq, supplied how-to manuals for Arab operatives working throughout Afghanistan before 9/11, and provided military assistance to the Taliban and Al Qaeda.  —  That's the most likely conclusion drawn …

Unlike some peers, Kerry not endorsing Lieberman in primary  —  WASHINGTON — Senator John F. Kerry announced yesterday that he will support whoever wins next month's Democratic Senate primary in Connecticut, despite the decision by incumbent Senator Joseph I. Lieberman to run as an independent candidate if he loses the primary.

Splits Over Immigration Reform On Display From Coast to Coast  —  PHILADELPHIA, July 5 — House and Senate Republicans sparred over immigration in hearings on opposite coasts Wednesday, holding firm to their starkly different viewpoints on what has become one of the most intractable and divisive issues to confront the GOP in years.

Left's bloggers try to play kingmaker in lower races  —  Four of the most powerful left-wing political bloggers have developed a new joint strategy to steer financial support from the "netroots," or Internet-based activists, to Democratic challengers, many of whom they know have little chance of winning their mid-term election races.

UPDATE: Coulter's Syndicate Requests Report From Plagiarism Prober — As She Hits Back at 'NY Post'  —  NEW YORK Universal Press Syndicate has requested a copy of a report about Ann Coulter's alleged plagiarism, according to a post on the TPMmuckraker.com blog.