U.N.: Israeli airstrike hits U.N. observer post  —  Sources: Condoleezza Rice floats plan to end conflict  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) — An Israeli airstrike hit a United Nations post in southern Lebanon late Tuesday, killing at least two of the agency's observers, according to the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon.

Hezbollah Says Israeli Response a Surprise  —  A senior Hezbollah official said Tuesday the guerrilla group did not expect Israel to react so strongly to its capture of two Israeli soldiers.  —  Mahmoud Komati, deputy chief of Hezbollah's political arm, also told The Associated Press …

President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq Participate in Press Availability  —  Fact Sheet: Prime Minister Maliki's Meeting with President Bush  —  PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you all.  Please be seated.  —  Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to the White House.

Steele Slams Party  —  WASHINGTON — A Republican in a competitive Senate race called his party affiliation "an impediment," said he'd "probably not" want President Bush to campaign for him and the GOP-controlled Congress should "just shut up and get something done."

Another Trip to the Curt Weldon Employment Agency  —  As I have previously noted here, being a friend or relative of Congressman Curt Weldon, a Pennsylvania Republican, appears to be a surer path to gainful employment than a Harvard MBA.  To review: one of the congressman's daughters got …

Matthews on Imus: Pencil Neck Foreign Policy  —  Chris took a hard stance against Bush's foreign policy...  Matthews has been against the Iraq War all along, but today he whaled on Bush's foreign policy-or should I say, his lack of one-that has made things much worse for the US and the world.

Best of the Web  —  Funny Money?  —  A reader noticed something curious in a video from last night's "NBC Nightly News."  Richard Engel, the network's Beirut bureau chief, is reporting from southern Lebanon, and at 1:07 in the video, as he's saying, "In Sidon, we found part …

The documents seized in the FBI raid on the offices of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) remain unread by Justice Department investigators, pending a federal Appeals Court ruling scheduled for August 27.  Jefferson is anxious to overturn the ruling of federal Judge Hogan of the Washington, DC federal District Court, who allowed the raid.

Immigration Proposal Aims to Bridge Republican Divide  —  In an attempt to strike a pre-election Republican compromise on immigration, two conservative lawmakers unveiled a plan today that would allow most of the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States a chance to work here legally …

Is USA Today Making Stuff Up Now?  —  I blogged a couple of days back about how encouraging it was that national news media covered the story of how a witness retrieved a 9mm pistol from his vehicle in the parking lot, and used it to force a guy on a knifing rampage to stop.