Shiite militia seizes Iraqi city  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — The Shiite militia run by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr seized total control of the southern Iraqi city of Amarah on Friday in one of the boldest acts of defiance yet by one of the country's powerful, unofficial armies, witnesses and police said.

Major Change Expected In Strategy for Iraq War  —  The growing doubts among GOP lawmakers about the administration's Iraq strategy, coupled with the prospect of Democratic wins in next month's midterm elections, will soon force the Bush administration to abandon its open-ended commitment to the war …

Report: N. Korean Leader Regrets Test  —  North Korean leader Kim Jong Il expressed regret about his country's nuclear test to a Chinese delegation and said Pyongyang would return to international nuclear talks if Washington backs off a campaign to financially isolate the country, a South Korean newspaper reported Friday.

Republican Woes Lead to Feuding by Conservatives  —  Tax-cutters are calling evangelicals bullies.  Christian conservatives say Republicans in Congress have let them down.  Hawks say President Bush is bungling the war in Iraq.  And many conservatives blame Representative Mark Foley's sexual messages to teenage pages.

GOP to Air Ad Warning of Terror Attacks  —  The Republican Party will begin airing a hard-hitting ad this weekend that warns of more cataclysmic terror attacks against the U.S. homeland.  —  The ad portrays Osama bin Laden and quotes his threats against America dating to February 1998.

House Intel Chair Suspends Staff Member  —  WASHINGTON — The Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has suspended a Democratic staff member pending an investigation into whether he leaked a high-level intelligence assessment to the news media.

Top US general says Rumsfeld is inspired by God  —  MIAMI (AFP) - The top US general defended the leadership of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, saying it is inspired by God.  —  "He leads in a way that the good Lord tells him is best for our country," said Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

CQ: Facing Fed Probe, House GOP Spending Chief Axes Investigative Staff  —  My goodness.  As TPMm readers know well, House Appropriations chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) is under federal investigation for possible improprieties in how he oversaw Congress' spending of $900 billion annually.

America's Next Top Pundit  —  What does it take to be a talking head?  —  Whenever news breaks — on the fall campaign trail, in North Korea, in the most trivial corners of Hollywood — thousands of pundits have something to say.  What most of them don't have is somewhere to say it.

Court Told It Lacks Power in Detainee Cases  —  Moving quickly to implement the bill signed by President Bush this week that authorizes military trials of enemy combatants, the administration has formally notified the U.S. District Court here that it no longer has jurisdiction to consider hundreds …

Bush, Clinton Ratchet Up the Drama  —  Money Rolls In to Md., Va. Candidates, but for Some, There May Be a Price  —  President Bush added a stern stay-the-course message on the war in Iraq to his buoyant endorsement of Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) yesterday, and the region's high-profile …