UN delegation presents cease-fire package; Livni hints Israel won't rule out int'l force in Lebanon  —  Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni hinted Tuesday that Israel would not object to a temporary international force in south Lebanon, despite earlier an outright Israeli rejection of such a plan.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

G.O.P.'s Bid for Blacks Falters  —  Julian Bond, chairman of the N.A.A.C.P., addressing an early session of the group's convention Monday in Washington.  President Bush, who has had strained relations with the group, may address it later.  —  WASHINGTON, July 17 — Even for some Republicans …

Stranded in bomb-ravaged Beirut  —  Westerners scramble to leave as fighting intensifies  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) — Westerners have piled on to cruise ships to flee war-torn Lebanon, but tens of thousands remain stranded in the capital Tuesday waiting for help to arrive.

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 …

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.

A Windfall From Shifts to Medicare  —  The pharmaceutical industry is beginning to reap a windfall from a surprisingly lucrative niche market: drugs for poor people.  —  And analysts expect the benefits to show up in many of the quarterly financial results that drug makers will begin posting this week.

The Democrats' message dilemma  —  WASHINGTON — It was a bit startling the other morning to hear Sen. Charles Schumer of New York — the garrulous poster boy of Democratic liberalism — intone that New Deal Democracy is over.  But also, he added just as surprisingly, so is Reagan Republicanism.

VIDEO: Bush Personally Blocked DOJ Investigation Of Wiretapping Program  —  Earlier this year, the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which is charged with investigating attorney misconduct, announced that it could not pursue an investigation into the role …