Retreat and Butter  —  TODAY THE House of Representatives is due to vote on a bill that would grant $25 million to spinach farmers in California.  The legislation would also appropriate $75 million for peanut storage in Georgia and $15 million to protect Louisiana rice fields from saltwater.

Iran nabs British sailors in Iraq waters  —  LONDON - Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors who had boarded a ship suspected of smuggling cars in the Persian Gulf off the Iraqi coast on Friday, officials said.  —  The British government demanded "the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment."

E-Mails Show Machinations to Replace Prosecutor  —  Administration Worked for Months to Make Rove Aide U.S. Attorney in Arkansas  —  Two months before Bud Cummins was fired as U.S. attorney in Little Rock, a protege of presidential adviser Karl Rove was maneuvering with the Justice Department to take his place.

Rove, proven liar  —  President Bush's "offer" to let Congress interview Karl Rove about the U.S. attorney firings without an oath is a joke.  As we learned in Plamegate, Rove cannot be trusted to tell the truth.  —  White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove (L) and Press Secretary Tony Snow listen …

White House Spokesman to Undergo Surgery  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Presidential spokesman Tony Snow is undergoing surgery Monday to remove a growth in his lower abdomen, a procedure he said was being done "out of an aggressive sense of caution" because he had colon cancer two years ago.

Vilsack to endorse Clinton for president  —  DES MOINES, Iowa - Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a major political coup, captured the endorsement of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who recently abandoned his own presidential bid, officials told The Associated Press on Friday.

Ex-Deputy to Plead Guilty in Lobbyist Case  —  WASHINGTON — Former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles will plead guilty to one count of obstruction of justice in the Jack Abramoff corruption investigation, The Associated Press has learned.  —  Griles, an oil and gas lobbyist who became …

Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007  —  Political Landscape More Favorable To Democrats  —  Summary of Findings  —  View the complete report in pdf format  —  Increased public support for the social safety net, signs of growing public concern about income inequality …

GAO Faults U.S. Military Over Munitions in Iraq  —  Report Says Insurgents Took Unsecured Explosives  —  The U.S. military's faulty war plans and insufficient troops in Iraq left thousands and possibly millions of tons of conventional munitions unsecured or in the hands of insurgent groups …

Symposium: The First Nuclear Terrorist Power  —  An Islamist insurgency is afoot in Pakistan, posing a dire threat of overthrowing Musharraf.  —  And this may happen sooner rather than later.  —  If the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is created, it means Islamists get their hands on Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

Politico Rushes to Crack the Story And Ends Up With Egg on Its Face  —  One hour and 4 minutes before John Edwards began a news conference yesterday on the recurrence of his wife's cancer, a two-month-old Web site blared what looked like a major exclusive: "Edwards to Suspend Campaign."

House OKs Timetable for Troops in Iraq  —  $124B Emergency Bill Sets Binding Benchmarks for Progress in Iraq  —  The House of Representatives today passed a $124 billion emergency spending bill that sets binding benchmarks for progress in Iraq, establishes tough readiness standards …

L.A. Editor Quits Over A Hollywood Connection  —  The editorial page editor of the Los Angeles Times resigned yesterday after acknowledging a romantic relationship with a publicist for Brian Grazer, the Hollywood producer who had been tapped to serve as guest editor of the paper's opinion section on Sunday.

Army Revises Upward the Number of Desertions  —  A total of 3,196 active-duty soldiers deserted the Army last year, or 853 more than previously reported, according to revised figures from the Army.  —  The new calculations by the Army, which had about 500,000 active-duty troops at the end of 2006 …