Iraq terror leader recruits scientists  —  CAIRO, Egypt - In a new audio message Thursday, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq called for explosives experts and nuclear scientists to join his group's holy war against the West.  He also said that more than 4,000 foreign insurgent fighters …

The White House Warden  —  Congress may give the president the power to lock up almost anyone he thinks is a terror threat.  —  BURIED IN THE complex Senate compromise on detainee treatment is a real shocker, reaching far beyond the legal struggles about foreign terrorist suspects in the Guantanamo Bay fortress.

Webb Denies Ever Using Word as Epithet  —  Racial Slur Overshadowing All Else in Contest  —  Democratic Senate candidate James Webb on Wednesday sought to explain remarks he had made a day earlier, in which he refused to say whether he had used the "N-word," but he insisted he has never used it as a racial epithet aimed at anyone.

Bob Woodward: Bush Misleads On Iraq  —  Tells 60 Minutes' Wallace That Kissinger Is Regular Visitor To White House  —  (CBS) Veteran Washington reporter Bob Woodward tells Mike Wallace that the Bush administration has not told the truth regarding the level of violence, especially against U.S. troops, in Iraq.

Senate Rejects Measure on Detainees  —  The Senate today rejected an amendment to a bill creating a new system for interrogating and trying terror suspects that would have guaranteed such suspects access to the courts to challenge their imprisonment.  —  The vote was 51 to 48 against the amendment …

Keith Olbermann takes a "look back" at Bush's first months in office leading up to 9/11  —  Keith Olbermann responds to Bush's non-response to Bill Clinton.  He goes over his first months in office leading up to 9/11.  It's not a pretty picture.  —  Video -WMP Video -QT  —  (rough transcript)

Bush Rules  —  Today's Senate vote on President Bush's detainee legislation, after House approval yesterday, marks a defining moment for this nation.  —  How far from our historic and Constitutional values are we willing to stray?  How mercilessly are we willing to treat those we suspect to be our enemies?

John Kerry: 'This Bill Permits Torture'  —  Yesterday the House rushed through Bush's 'torture bill' and today as the Senate is in the midst of debate on the bill it is clear there is no stopping this travesty of justice.  The N.Y. Times reports that "House Democrats were prevented from offering …

Cleric Said to Lose Reins of Parts of Iraqi Militia  —  The radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has lost control of portions of his Mahdi Army militia that are splintering off into freelance death squads and criminal gangs, a senior coalition intelligence official said Wednesday.

Sixteen-Year-Old Capitol Hill Page Concerned About E-mail Exchange with Congressman  —  Rhonda Schwartz and Maddy Sauer Report:  —  A 16-year-old male congressional page concerned about the appropriateness of an e-mail exchange with a congressman alerted Capitol Hill staffers to the communication.

Poll: Lieberman Leads Lamont in Conn.  —  HAMDEN, Conn. (AP) - Sen. Joe Lieberman has a 10-point advantage over Democrat Ned Lamont among likely Connecticut voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.  —  Lieberman, a three-term Democrat running as an independent …

Kazakhs Shrug at 'Borat' While the State Fumes  —  There is no Running of the Jews here.  No one greets you with the expression "Jagshemash," which is either nonsense, garbled Polish or mangled Czech; it's hard to say.  The country's national drink is not made from horse urine …

Press Briefing by Tony Snow  —  White House Conference Center Briefing Room  —  MR. SNOW: Good morning.  Welcome.  A couple of opening notes.  The President, today, or this evening, will be making brief remarks on the way to dinner.  I know a lot of you are interested in what's going to be happening.

Threatening letter no joke  —  Keith Olbermann responds to the New York Post's report  —  The Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper, The New York Post, may have just impeded an FBI investigation into terroristic threats.  —  I know this because I was a recipient.

Giuliani Defends Clinton on 9/11 Efforts  —  Rudy Giuliani defends Bill Clinton over former president's counterterrorism efforts  —  (AP) Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani defended Bill Clinton on Wednesday over the former president's counterterrorism efforts, saying recent criticism …

How not to argue about Islam  —  This post by Dean Esmay, "calling out Michelle Malkin," is what is known in the business as traffic bait.  —  So go ahead and click it and give Esmay more of the traffic he wants.  I highly recommend you read his post as the classic blogospheric example of how not to argue about Islam.

Bush Job Approval Climbs to 42%  —  New Reuters/Zogby poll shows Republicans, weekly WalMart shoppers, Catholics, and men help buoy the President, but Democrats retain edge in battle for Congress  —  With control of Congress at stake in the crucial midterm elections six weeks away …

Dispute on Intelligence Report Disrupts Republicans' Game Plan  —  Vice President Dick Cheney with Republican senators Wednesday at the Capitol.  Republicans want to focus political debate on national security.  —  The dispute over a newly disclosed National Intelligence Estimate has threatened …

Wooing both parties was bipartisan effort that paid off  —  How'd the Twin Cities land the 2008 GOP convention?  Personal connections, a chance ride to the airport and rivals overcoming their differences.  —  In the end, personal connections, a chance ride to the airport and rivals overcoming …

Checkout for an Undemocratic Checkoff  —  Unalloyed good news is rare, so rejoice: The foremost achievement of the political speech regulators — a.k.a. campaign finance "reformers" — is collapsing.  Taxpayer financing of presidential campaigns, which was in parlous condition in 2004, will die in 2008.