Gaza groups ready to deal on cease-fire, release of Shalit  —  All groups in Gaza, including Hamas, would now accept a cease-fire deal with Israel which would include releasing Gilad Shalit, according to the Palestinian Agriculture Minister, who also heads the coordinating committee of Palestinian organizations there.

Democrats' Plan Focuses on Middle Class  —  Sen. Clinton Presents Domestic Agenda Featuring Tax Breaks and Tuition Help  —  DENVER, July 24 — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) accused Republicans under President Bush of economic mismanagement and favoring the rich here on Monday …

It's Disproportionate. . .  Just my luck.  I go away on vacation and it happens to be the week when George W. Bush's strategic view of the current world situation is revealed: Russia big.  China big, too.  World leaders boring.  Lady world leaders need neck rub.  Terrorism bad.

Top Iraqi's White House Visit Shows Gaps With U.S.  —  Iraqis buried their dead Monday from another suicide bombing.  Prime Minister Maliki has tried without success to end such violence.  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 24 — When Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki visits the White House on Tuesday …

For One Senate Candidate, the 'R' Is a 'Scarlet Letter'  —  The candidate, immersed in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country, sat down to lunch yesterday with reporters at a Capitol Hill steakhouse and shared his views about this year's political currents.

Democrats Lose if Lieberman is Defeated  —  The most interesting question about the possibility that Connecticut Democrats could deny Joseph Lieberman renomination is whether that would help or hurt the senator's political prospects.  Or, for that matter, the Democratic Party's.

Bush Job Approval at 37%  —  Similar to 37% average rating for all of June  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds 37% of Americans approving of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 59% disapproving.  Despite many extraordinary events dominating the news over the past weeks …

Nice Rats, Nasty Rats: Maybe It's All in the Genes  —  On an animal-breeding farm in Siberia are cages housing two colonies of rats.  In one colony, the rats have been bred for tameness in the hope of mimicking the mysterious process by which Neolithic farmers first domesticated an animal still kept today.

Massive blackout continues in St. Louis  —  AP — _ ST. LOUIS (AP) _ Nearly a quarter-million homes and businesses still had no electricity Monday as the city struggled to recover from last week's devastating thunderstorms.  —  The blackout has kept air conditioners from cooling homes since Wednesday …

Cliff May: National Review Bloggers Are 'Fighting a War' That Is 'Equally Consequential' To U.S. Troops in Combat  —  On Friday, the National Review's Katherine Jean Lopez wrote a rather innocuous review of the new Oliver Stone movie, World Trade Center.  Lopez wrote the movie was "about why we fight."

50 percent of U.S. says Iraq had WMDs  —  Half of Americans now say Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when the United States invaded the country in 2003 — up from 36 percent last year, a Harris poll finds.  Pollsters deemed the increase both "substantial" and "surprising" …

Specter Prepping Bill to Sue Bush  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - A powerful Republican committee chairman who has led the fight against President Bush's signing statements said Monday he would have a bill ready by the end of the week allowing Congress to sue him in federal court.

U.S. Says It Knew of Pakistani Reactor Plan  —  Congress Learned of Nation's Nuclear Expansion From Independent Analysts  —  The Bush administration acknowledged yesterday that it had long known about Pakistan's plans to build a large plutonium-production reactor, but it said the White House …

Inside the Mind of the World's Most Powerful Liberal Blogger  —  An Interview with Markos Moulitsas  —  June 24.  2006 — For "Nightline," ABC News' Jake Tapper interviewed Markos Moulitsas, founder of the powerful blog Daily Kos.  The following is a transcript.

Raise Wages, Not Walls  —  THERE are two approaches to illegal immigration currently being debated in Congress.  One, supported by the House, emphasizes border control and law enforcement, including a wall along the Mexican border and increased border patrols.

From Planning to Warfare to Occupation, How Iraq Went Wrong  —  The title of this devastating new book about the American war in Iraq says it all: "Fiasco."  That is the judgment that Thomas E. Ricks, senior Pentagon correspondent for The Washington Post, passes on the Bush administration's decision …