Iran's Hizbollah says ready to attack US, Israel  —Text+TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Hizbollah, which claims links to the Lebanese group of the same name, said on Tuesday it stood ready to attack Israeli and U.S. interests worldwide.  —  "We have 2,000 volunteers who have registered since last year …

Brownback Holds Up Drawing Of Embryo, Asks 'Are You Going To Kill Me?'  —  Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) is leading the opposition to the H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.  On Saturday, the Washington Post reported that Brownback has used a deceptive and false report …

Bush Blocked Justice Department Investigation  —  Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee today that President Bush personally halted an internal Justice Department investigation into whether Gonzales and other senior department officials acted within …

Bush Gropes Germany's Merkel  —  President Bush took time out from the G-8 Summit to grope German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  I'm not kidding.  It boggles the mind.  (Update: John at C&L has the video up.)  —  Via Mash (by the way, great get!), we get photos via a friend of his in Germany.

Why the Left Is Furious at Lieberman  —  A blogger's blast at the embattled Connecticut senator.  Hint: It's not just Iraq.  —  SOME TIME AFTER having lunch in Iraq with the junior senator from Connecticut, Time magazine Baghdad bureau chief Michael Ware told an interviewer …

NYT to cut paper size and close plant  —Text+NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Times Co. (NYT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to narrow the size of its flagship newspaper and close a printing plant, resulting in the loss of 250 jobs, the company said in a story posted on its Web site late on Monday.

Snow To Helen Thomas: 'Thank You For the Hezbollah View'  —  In a contentious exchange at this afternoon's White House press briefing, Tony Snow attempted to discredit reporter Helen Thomas by characterizing her comments as "the Hezbollah view."  Watch it.  —  Thomas asked Snow …

Most Americans in Lebanon Are Hezbollah Supporters; U.S. Taxes Shouldn't Fund Their Return  —  **** AS READ ON THE AIR TODAY BY RUSH LIMBAUGH—THANKS, RUSH!  **** ALSO, SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATE ****  —  One thing is lost in all the press coverage of the whining Americans who went to Lebanon …

Chicago Weighs New Prohibition: Bad-for-You Fats  —  CHICAGO, July 14 — In Grant Park, this city's front yard along Lake Michigan, a dizzying pack of people filled the streets evening after evening, all holding their gazes firmly on the little plates in their hands, loaded with catfish beignets …

Reed Hopes Voters Keep Faith, Forget Abramoff  —  His foe in Georgia's GOP primary criticizes the PR work he did for his lobbyist friend.  —  ALPHARETTA, Ga. — For former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed to succeed in his first bid for public office, he's going to have to pray for the help of voters like Norma Saunders.

House Rejects Gay Marriage Ban Amendment  —  The House on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, ending for another year a congressional debate that supporters of the ban hope will still reverberate in this fall's election.  —  The 236-187 vote for the proposal …

Car Bomb Kills Dozens Near Shiite Shrine in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 18— A bomb killed 53 people and wounded more than 100 in the Shiite city of Kufa today, a day after at least 48 people died as dozens of gunmen suspected of being Sunni Arabs went on a rampage through a mostly Shiite market area …

G.O.P. Senator Resisting Bush Over Detainees  —  WASHINGTON, July 17 — Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina often plays the contrarian, the conservative Republican willing to poke a stick in the eye of the White House.  —  Now Mr. Graham is playing an even higher-profile variant of that role …

Avast, Me Critics!  Ye Kill the Fun: Critics and the Masses Disagree About Film Choices  —  Johnny Depp in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."  Despite negative reviews, the film earned $136 million in its first weekend.  —  Let's start with a few numbers.