N.Korea issues new threat  —  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea threatened on Friday to take "stronger physical actions" after Japan imposed punitive measures in response to its barrage of missile tests and pushed for broader sanctions at the United Nations.  —  Japan introduced …

Plot to Attack N.Y. Foiled  —  A terrorist plot to attack transit tunnels under New York's Hudson River was broken up in its early planning stages, U.S. authorities said yesterday, with three suspects arrested overseas, including a Lebanese man the FBI said was an al-Qaeda follower.

G.O.P. Agenda in House Has Moderates Unhappy  —  WASHINGTON, July 7 — Moderate Republicans say a planned summer push by the House leadership on conservative causes like gun rights and new abortion restrictions threatens the re-election prospects of embattled centrists, who are key to the party's drive to hold Congress.

The Thursday Night Fights  —  I haven't read anyone else's coverage or analysis yet, so forgive me if I'm repeating here.  —  Joe: I wasn't surprised by his pugnacious style.  You can't really disguise where you are, emotionally, in a situation like that, and his handlers were probably urging him to come out swinging, anyway.

N.Y. GAY-MARRIAGE RULING:  —  ... & BLUEPRINT FOR VICTORY  —  July 7, 2006 — SUPPORTERS of gay marriage won a resounding victory yesterday - even if they don't know it yet.  —  In a 4-2 decision, New York state's Court of Appeals made a simple, but firm, declaration …

Whither the Women?  —  After Decades on Rise, Labor Participation Rate Is Down  —  The trend was clear and consistent.  Since the end of World War II and stretching to the start of the current millennium, the percentage of American women entering the labor force rose steadily …

Safe at Any Speed  —  With higher speed limits, our highways have been getting safer.  —  It's another summer weekend, when millions of families pack up the minivan or SUV and hit the road.  So this is also an apt moment to trumpet some good, and underreported, news: Driving on the highways is safer today than ever before.

Ahmadinejad warns of Islamic 'explosion'  —  TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's hard-line president warned Friday that continued Israeli strikes against Palestinians could lead to an Islamic "explosion" targeting Israel and its Western supporters.  —  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told thousands of demonstrators gathered …

General Faults Marine Response to Iraq Killings  —  WASHINGTON, July 7 — The second-ranking American commander in Iraq has concluded that some senior Marine officers were negligent in failing to investigate more aggressively the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians by marines in Haditha last November …

U.S. Secret Service Forced to Release More White House Logs Detailing Abramoff Visits  —  Available on Judicial Watch's Internet Site, www.judicialwatch.org  —  (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption …

Justices Tacitly Backed Use of Guantánamo, Bush Says  —  WASHINGTON, July 7 — In his most detailed comments to date on the Supreme Court's rejection of his decision to put detainees on trial before military commissions, President Bush said Friday that the court had tacitly approved …

Phone Jammer to Argue DC Officials Approved  —  According to a recent court filing, indicted phone jammer Shaun Hansen may offer an affirmative defense at his upcoming fall trial, arguing that the phone jamming scheme which his company carried out had the seal of approval of both the Republican National Committee and the White House.

Sources say no serious plot for NYC, just hate chatter  —  One former intelligence field officer says, and two other CIA officials confirm, that the alleged plot by Muslim extremists to bomb the Holland Tunnel in New York City was nothing more than chatter by unaffiliated individuals …

The 'Rahm Whining About Dean' WATB Storyline  —  Periodically, I read stories about intra-Democratic Party committee battles.  They are basically all the same.  Rahm Emanuel (DCCC), and occasionally Chuck Schumer (DSCC), are tough, smart guys with metal testicles, and they are hard-nosed and mean.

Media Matters asks Random House to investigate Coulter plagiarism allegations  —  Tina Constable, Vice President, Executive Director of Publicity  —  Dear Mr. Olson, Mr. Applebaum, Ms. Frost, and Ms. Constable:  —  I am writing to bring to your attention troubling evidence that one of your authors …

U.N. CONFERENCE ENDING, FREEDOM WINNING!!  As of 6 p.m. eastern time, the word from the United Nations small arms conference is that the conference is concluding with NO final document, and NO plans for any follow-up conference.  It was the latter issue that prevented an agreement about a final document.