Kerry knocks Bush on handling of Mideast conflict  —  U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D- Mass., who was in town Sunday to help Gov. Jennifer Granholm campaign for her re-election bid, took time to take a jab at the Bush administration for its lack of leadership in the Israeli-Lebanon conflict.

Surveillance We Can Live With  —  President Bush's electronic surveillance program has been a festering sore on our body politic since it was publicly disclosed last December.  Civil libertarians, myself included, have insisted that the program must be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with the Fourth Amendment.

Rice meets with Lebanon PM in Beirut  —  WASHINGTON - In a surprise visit to Beirut, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised the beleaguered prime minister of Lebanon on Monday for his courage in struggling to contain the fighting between the Hezbollah militia and Israel.

Pakistan Expanding Nuclear Program  —  Plant Underway Could Generate Plutonium for 40 to 50 Bombs a Year, Analysts Say  —  Pakistan has begun building what independent analysts say is a powerful new reactor for producing plutonium, a move that, if verified, would signal a major expansion …

Legal Group Faults Bush for Ignoring Parts of Bills  —  WASHINGTON, July 23 — The American Bar Association said Sunday that President Bush was flouting the Constitution and undermining the rule of law by claiming the power to disregard selected provisions of bills that he signed.

War Dead Flown to Iran  —  JERUSALEM — The bodies of Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers killed by the Israeli army in Lebanon have been transported to Syria and flown to Tehran, senior Lebanese political sources said.  —  Israeli and Egyptian security officials confirmed the news …

Saddam Hussein taken to hospital  —  Iraq's former leader Saddam Hussein has been taken to hospital as a result of a hunger strike, prosecutors at his trial in Baghdad say.  —  Saddam Hussein is thought to have begun refusing food on 7 July in protest at the murder of his lawyer.

To Flee or to Stay?  Family Chooses Too Late and Pays Dearly  —  Two brothers from the Shaito family waited Sunday at a hospital in Tyre, Lebanon.  Three of their relatives died while fleeing north when their van was struck by an Israeli missile.  —  SIDIQEEN, Lebanon, July 23 …

'Chickenhawk'  —  ``IT'S TOUCHING that you're so concerned about the military in Iraq," a reader in Wyoming e-mails in response to one of my columns on the war.  ``But I have a suspicion you're a phony.  So tell me, what's your combat record?  Ever serve?"

Sectarian break-up of Iraq is now inevitable, admit officials  —  The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, meets Tony Blair in London today as violence in Iraq reaches a new crescendo and senior Iraqi officials say the break up of the country is inevitable.

DELAYED-BLOGGING MISS UNIVERSE  —  No live-blogging this year, as we have house guests—my youngest brother, the Rocket Prof, and his family.  But, through the miracle of Tivo, we preserved the pageant finale to watch after dinner.  —  The initial impression is that this was an evening of upsets.

Bar Talk  —  The brutal, sleepless heat stirs me toward an anecdote, and although I've yet to figure out an underlying point to this ...  I've said I wouldn't dicuss the current MidEast Mess, but some context is in order.  —  You will not find a more ardent supporter of Israel than myself.

Saudis Urge Bush to Push for Cease-Fire in the Mideast  —  WASHINGTON, July 23 — A delegation from Saudi Arabia asked President Bush on Sunday to push for a cease-fire in the conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah — something the United States has refused to do.