White House Drops a Condition on Interrogation Bill  —  Seeking a deal with Senate Republicans on the rules governing the interrogation of terrorism suspects, the White House has dropped its insistence on redefining the obligations of the United States under the Geneva Conventions, members of Congress and aides said Tuesday.

Iran Tells U.N. Nuclear Program Peaceful  —  Iran's nuclear activities are "transparent, peaceful and under the watchful eye" of United Nations inspectors, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday.  —  Taking the world stage at the U.N. General Assembly hours after President Bush …

Doubts Increase About Strength of Iraq's Premier  —  Senior Iraqi and American officials are beginning to question whether Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has the political muscle and decisiveness to hold Iraq together as it hovers on the edge of a full civil war.

Carey backs Pope and issues warning on 'violent' Islam  —  THE former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey of Clifton has issued his own challenge to "violent" Islam in a lecture in which he defends the Pope's "extraordinarily effective and lucid" speech.  —  Lord Carey said that Muslims must address …

Allen Says He Embraces His Jewish Ancestry  —  Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) said for the first time publicly yesterday that he has Jewish ancestry, a day after responding angrily to an exchange that included questions about his mother's racial sensitivity and whether his family has Jewish roots.

Deval Patrick wins easily  —  Deval L. Patrick, who rose from poverty on the South Side of Chicago to corporate boardrooms and a top position in President Clinton's administration, won the Democratic Party's nomination for governor tonight, becoming the first African American to win …

Refugee who fled Iran's mullahs becomes first woman space tourist  —  AS A young girl in Iran, Anousheh Ansari would stare in wonder at the stars and dream of joining them in the blackness of space.  —  Yesterday, a week after her 40th birthday, she made her dream come true.

Oprah Seeks To Avoid 2008 Draft  —  Talk show host threatens legal action over fan's campaign  —  If nominated, Oprah Winfrey will serve...a cease and desist letter.  Lawyers for the talk show host are threatening legal action against a retired Kansas City teacher who has mounted …

Well beyond satire  —  Michelle Malkin is extremely upset because three convicted Christian terrorists in Indonesia are going to be executed despite — in Michelle's words — "grave doubts raised over the fairness of the trial."  The title of her post is "Muslims will execute Christians" …

Mubarak's Son Proposes Nuclear Program  —  Gamal Mubarak, the son of Egypt's president, proposed Tuesday that his country pursue nuclear energy, drawing strong applause from the nation's political elite, while raising expectations that Mr. Mubarak is being positioned to replace his father as president.

CNN Transcript - The Situation Room  —  Wolf Blitzer interviews Gen. John Abizaid, US CENTCOM Commander, on operations in the Middle East  —  WOLF: Hard-pressed u.S. Troops face a raging insurgency in iraq.  A taliban comeback in afghanistan.  The hunt for osama bin laden and the possibility of military action against iran.

Connecticut Governor: Rell Continues Romp to Reelection  —  Rell (R) 60%, DeStefano 32%  —  As political observers dissect every jolt and twitch of Connecticut's competitive U.S. Senate race, Republican Governor Jodi Rell continues to enjoy an enviable lead in the state's relatively uneventful and unremarked gubernatorial contest.

A Jurist's Argument for Bending the Constitution  —  Citing national security concerns in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the Bush administration has repeatedly sought to expand presidential power, often doing so in secret and sidelining both Congress and the judiciary.

THE HEALTHCARE BOOM REVISITED....Michael Mandel, who wrote the Business Week cover story I blogged about yesterday, has a blog of his own.  That's sort of cool, no?  —  As you may recall, the takeaway from his story was that the American economy is being kept afloat by jobs in the healthcare industry.