white flag  —  I wrote some inflammatory comments at a blog by a guy named Jeff Goldstein called protein wisdom that infuriated many bloggers and commenters.  Many of these bloggers emailed my boss at the University of Arizona to tell on me.  —  In hindsight, the things I wrote were over the line of nastiness.

Surprising Jump in Tax Revenues Curbs U.S. Deficit  —  WASHINGTON, July 8 — An unexpectedly steep rise in tax revenues from corporations and the wealthy is driving down the budget deficit this year, even though spending has climbed sharply because of the war in Iraq and the cost of hurricane relief.

Secret Service reveals more Abramoff visits  —  WASHINGTON - The Secret Service on Friday revealed four more visits to the White House in 2001 by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, including one to see a domestic policy aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.  —  The newly released records …

Signs of Detainees' Planning Alleged  —  Three suicides at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may have been part of a broader plot by detainees who were using confidential lawyer-client papers and envelopes to pass handwritten notes their guards could not intercept …

Rudy for President?  —  Well-connected public figures report that they have been told recently by Rudolph Giuliani that, as of now, he intends to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.  —  The former mayor of New York was on top of last month's national Gallup poll measuring …

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 …

Ally Told Bush That Failing to Inform Congress of Spying Projects Might Be Illegal  —  WASHINGTON, July 8 — In a sharply worded letter to President Bush in May, an important Congressional ally charged that the administration might have violated the law by failing to inform Congress …

DeLay Suggests He Might Not Retire  —  SUGAR LAND, Texas (AP) - Former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay suggested Friday that he may not be ready for retirement just yet, a day after a federal judge ruled that his name must remain on the November ballot even though he resigned from Congress.

Israeli leader rejects Palestinian truce  —  GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The Hamas-led Palestinian government called for a cease-fire Saturday in its violent two-week standoff with Israel, but Israel rejected the offer because it did not call for releasing a soldier held by Hamas militants.

Japan pushes for sanctions on N. Korea  —  UNITED NATIONS - Over Chinese and Russian objections, Japan introduced a draft Security Council resolution Friday that would impose sanctions on North Korea for its series of rocket test-launches and also order a halt to its development of ballistic missiles.

Gays at Globe told to marry or lose benefits  —  Memo to Boston Globe gay and lesbian Guild employees: Get married or lose your domestic partner benefits.  —  Globe staffers have been told that health and dental benefits for gay employees' domestic partners are being discontinued.

At Colleges, Women Are Leaving Men in the Dust  —  Nearing graduation, Rick Kohn is not putting much energy into his final courses.  —  "I take the path of least resistance," said Mr. Kohn, who works 25 hours a week to put himself through the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

Laura Bush Complains "Good Polls" Never Show Up on the Front Page  —  NEW YORK Intrerviewed with her husband on "Larry King Live" on Thursday night, Laura Bush once again charged that "good polls" for the president never end up on the front page.  —  She also said that she did not trust the polls at all …

The Big-Bang Story of U.S. Private Business  —  Did you know that just over the past 11 quarters, dating back to the June 2003 Bush tax cuts, America has increased the size of its entire economy by 20 percent?  In less than three years, the U.S. economic pie has expanded by $2.2 trillion …

Landmark al Qaeda trial collapses  —  Judge: 'Islamic Sharia law permits jihad against occupiers'  —  SAN'A, Yemen (AP) — The trial of 19 alleged al Qaeda members had been designed to showcase how serious Yemen was in the fight against terror.  But the Islamic militants …