Bolton: U.N. must now focus on sanctions  —  UNITED NATIONS - Iran has left no doubt it intends to seek nuclear weapons now that it has violated a U.N. Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment, and the council must now be ready to impose sanctions, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said Thursday.

President Bush Addresses American Legion National Convention  —  Fact Sheet: Winning the Struggle Between Freedom and Terror in the Middle East  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much.  Please be seated.  Thanks for the warm welcome.  It's great to join you here in one of America's most beautiful cities.

PRESIDENT BUSH 'ASSASSINATED' IN NEW TV DOCUDRAMA  —  This is the dramatic moment when President George Bush is gunned down by a sniper after a public address at a hotel, in a gripping new docudrama soon to be aired on TV.  —  Set around October 2007, President Bush is assassinated as he leaves the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago.

Is a Dem Also Holding Up the Porkbusting Bill?  —  There's a loose thread to this "secret hold" story, and it bothers us.  —  By this morning, the dogged persistence of hundreds of bloggers and blogreaders garnered denials from 98 senators saying they did not hold up the Coburn/Obama spending transparency database bill.

Laffey Takes Commanding Lead in Republican U. S. Senate Primary  —  U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee may lose his seat to challenger Steve Laffey, according to a new statewide Republican primary voter poll released today by the Bureau of Government Research and Services at Rhode Island College.

Salt Lake sounds off in protest and support  —  A crowd of thousands cheered Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson for calling President Bush a "dishonest, war-mongering, human-rights violating president" whose time in office would "rank as the worst presidency our nation has ever had to endure."

Gingrich: Powerful Pelosi 'would be a disaster'  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. - Ex-U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that the thought of California Rep. Nancy Pelosi becoming the next leader of the House and being third in line to the presidency is frightening.

Boyle Included In Nominees for Appeals Court  —  Bucking opposition in the Senate, President Bush on Wednesday nominated five people for the U.S. Court of Appeals, including one whom Democrats have threatened to block with a filibuster.  —  News that Bush had decided to nominate …

Positive Press on Iraq Is Aim of U.S. Contract  —  U.S. military leaders in Baghdad have put out for bid a two-year, $20 million public relations contract that calls for extensive monitoring of U.S. and Middle Eastern media in an effort to promote more positive coverage of news from Iraq.

Bush Shifting Public Focus to Terrorism and Iraq War  —  With the midterm elections approaching, President Bush is beginning an extended tour to draw attention to the threat of terrorism and the Iraq war, quickly pivoting to more comfortable territory after the focus on the Hurricane Katrina anniversary.

There Is Silence in the Streets; Where Have All the Protesters Gone?  —  It was almost painful the other night to hear Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young sing about a war whose purpose Americans never really understood, started by a president who didn't tell the truth and then waged the war ineptly.

Burns says terrorists drive taxis by day  —  BELGRADE, Mont. - Republican Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record), whose recent comments have stirred controversy, says the United States is up against a faceless enemy of terrorists who "drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night."

Back to the Congressional Future  —  Let's think about how the Democrats would govern.  —  With a little more than two months to go before midterm elections, the polls show Democrats well positioned to win the House after 12 years out of power.  So it's not too soon to consider who these Democrats are and how they would govern.

No Day at the Beach  —  Bloggers Struggle With What to Do About Vacation  —  A banner stripped across the top of the Daily Dish declares that the popular Web log's host, Andrew Sullivan, has "gone fishing."  Mr. Sullivan declared a two-week vacation and opted to leave his political blog behind.

Lieberman, Lamont Head to Washington  —  WASHINGTON — Rivalry or not, the Senate is big enough for Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont.  —  For now.  —  Congress returns for business Tuesday, and Lieberman, the Democrat now running as an independent, will be back for committee assignments, defense legislation and perhaps party meetings.

Amnesty Int'l redefines 'war crimes'  —  The two principal "human rights" organizations are in a race to the bottom to see which group can demonize Israel with the most absurd legal arguments and most blatant factual mis-statements.  Until last week, Human Rights Watch enjoyed a prodigious lead …