Contender Alleges Mexico Vote Was Rigged  —  Populist's Plan for Legal Challenge Ignites Boisterous Crowd at Massive Rally in Capital  —  MEXICO CITY, July 8 — Downtown Mexico City swelled Saturday with the accumulated frustration and rage of the poor, who were stoked into a sign-waving …

UN blames Israel for humanitarian crisis, hard to children in Gaza  —  JERUSALEM (AP) - The United Nations blamed Israel for a burgeoning humanitarian crisis, including deaths, injuries and harm to children, from its offensive in Gaza in a strong statement released Saturday.

CopyCoulter: Plagiarism Scandal Heating Up  —  Since the New York Post article featuring John Barrie, a plagiarism expert, and his work on looking into online allegations of plagiarism by Ann Coulter, the scandal is now off and rolling.  —  Justin Rood of TPMmuckraker wrote that Barrie …

Kiss of Death?  —  On July 6, the commuters stopping by O'Neill's pub on North Main Street here for a beer and a ballgame on their way home from work found themselves in the middle of a political rebellion.  While the after-work crowd stood along the bar, drinking Stella Artois and carousing …

GOP senator helped hip-hop producer dodge coke sentence  —  Orrin Hatch: Dallas Austin 'will learn from this experience'  —  SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) — U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a musician in his own right, helped secure the release of Atlanta R&B producer Dallas Austin …

Police Abuses in Iraq Detailed  —  Confidential documents cover more than 400 investigations.  Brutality, bribery and cooperation with militia fighters are common, a report says.  —  BAGHDAD — Brutality and corruption are rampant in Iraq's police force, with abuses including the rape of female prisoners …

Joking Muslim cleric mocks victims of London blasts  —  A SPEECH by an extremist Muslim cleric praising the London bombers and mocking victims of suicide attacks has been broadcast on the internet to coincide with the anniversary of the July 7 attacks.  —  The audience laughs as Omar Brooks …

Powerful GOP Activist Sees His Influence Slip Over Abramoff Dealings  —  For more than a decade, Grover G. Norquist has been at the nexus of conservative activism in Washington, becoming a Bush administration insider whose weekly strategy sessions at his Americans for Tax Reform …

Investors Lead Home Sale Boom in New Orleans  —  NEW ORLEANS, July 8 — In a market spurred by speculators and bargain hunters, an extraordinarily large number of houses in the flood-ravaged metropolitan area here are being sold, according to real estate analysts, who say volume and sales prices exceed levels before Hurricane Katrina.

A few words on the Frisch matter, presented in convenient list form (updated)  —  1) I don't feel victimized.  Debbie Frisch is as nutty as the ring around a squirrel's crapper, but I don't think she's a threat.  She's more of an object lesson in having too many cats.

Hoekstra's Threat  —  I had a feeling there was something more—a lot more—to the Lichtblau-Shane story reporting a surveillance program that Peter Hoekstra hadn't been briefed on.  Only I wasn't sharp enough to do what texas dem did—look for the letter referenced in the article.

A City on a Hill, or a Looting Opportunity  —  JUST for my own bad self, I love living in the United States of America.  —  Every night before I go to sleep, I lie in bed next to my wonderful German short-haired pointer, Brigid, and my Dalmatian, Susie, and I look out at the palm trees …

Children among 40 'massacre' dead  —  DEVELOPING STORY  —  A mother with her young boy wounded in crossfire.  —  At least 40 people, including women and children, were killed Sunday in a rampage of violence against Sunnis in a Baghdad neighborhood, emergency police told CNN.

American attacks on Mehdi Army cause uproar among Shia  —  US forces in Iraq have launched a series of bloody attacks on Shia militia forces in and around Baghdad, killing or wounding 30 fighters and provoking widespread anger in the Shia community.  —  Iraqi government security forces …

Maxine Waters to Campaign for Lamont  —  I swear if it wasn't for the Congressional Black Caucus during the Clinton impeachment hearings my faith in democracy would have crumbled right then and there.  You want a fight?  They know how to fight, which is why the right hates them and spends …

Two Dozen Injured as Car Strikes Pedestrians at Sailfest  —  ',SHADOW, CAPTIONSTYLE, 'italic',CLOSEWEIGHT, 'bold', CLOSESIZE, 1, CLOSECOLOR, '#ffffff', STICKY, CAPTION, 'Author Profile', FGCOLOR, '#ffffcc', OFFSETX, 20, OFFSETY, -25, WIDTH, 300);" onmouseout="return nd();">Kathleen Edgecomb

Two big calls for the press "to rise to the occasion" in the face of bullying and not so subtle messages to pull punches, from the nation's top journalism deans and Frank Rich.  —  I will say this, it is staggering to see what a press that doesn't pull punches coupled with an independent Milan prosecutor …