Congress Passes Deadline-Free War Funding Bill  —  Congress sent President Bush a new Iraq funding bill yesterday that lacked troop withdrawal deadlines demanded by liberal Democrats, but party leaders vowed it was only a temporary setback in their efforts to bring home American troops.

Inquiry widens into Justice Department hiring  —  The move follows testimony by a former Gonzales aide that she had considered politics in screening applicants.  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has broadened an internal investigation into whether aides to Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales …

Books Paint Critical Portraits of Clinton  —  2 Biographies Detail Marital Strife and Driving Ambition  —  Two new books on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York offer fresh and often critical portraits of the Democratic presidential candidate that depict a tortured relationship …

NBC: CIA warned of risks of war in the Mideast  —  Pre-war reports say agency predicted dangers of toppling Saddam's regime  —  Men place the coffin of an attack victim atop a vehicle in Baghdad on Friday.  —  NBC News Investigative Unit  —  In a move sure to raise even more questions …

Shiite Cleric Appears in Iraq After Stay in Iran  —  The powerful Iraqi cleric Moktada al- Sadr surfaced in his home base of Kufa in southern Iraq today, delivering a sermon in a local mosque after what American intelligence officials called a four-month sojourn in Iran.

Immigration Bill Provisions Gain Wide Support in Poll  —  As opponents from the right and left challenge an immigration bill before Congress, there is broad support among Americans — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike — for the major provisions in the legislation, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

House Votes to Lift Veil Over Lobbyists' Donations  —  The House voted Thursday to drag into public view the role that registered lobbyists play in soliciting and collecting contributions for political campaigns, exposing for the first time one of the most effective ways that influence-seekers …

OSTRICH IS STUPID!  We libs still have our heads in the sand.  We've met Stupid—and Stupid is Us:  —  PROVING IT ALL WEEK LONG: It's obvious how it's going to go as the press corps pretends to discuss Al Gore's book.  Gore has said our discourse is broken—and our pundits are going to rush out to prove it.

Hyping al-Qaida  —  BUSH BUNGLES A PRESS CONFERENCE.  —  If you tuned in at the end of George W. Bush's press conference Thursday morning, just in time to watch him defend the immigration bill, you caught a glimpse of the leader he might have been, the "compassionate conservative" …

Fred Thompson Goes Nutmeg  —  STAMFORD, Conn. — In his second major outing as a presidential candidate in waiting, Fred Thompson spoke last night to the Connecticut Republican Party for its annual Prescott Bush awards dinner.  It was a somewhat unlikely venue for the conservative former Tennessee senator …

RONALD REAGAN ON IMMIGRATION: Conservative Republican have been outdoing each other in claiming the mantle of Ronald Reagan.  Ironically, however, many conservatives are simultaneously outdoing each other in advocating immigration restriction - a stance Reagan would probably have abhorred.

In the Rose Garden, It Was All Al-Qaeda  —  Is there no safe haven for President Bush?  —  It happened midway through his news conference in the Rose Garden yesterday morning, in between his 10th and 11th mentions of al-Qaeda: A bird flew over the president and deposited a wet, white dropping on the upper left sleeve of his jacket.

Al Gore Appearance at the Marin Civic Center  —  On May 23, 2007, Al Gore made a personal appearance at the Marin Veterans' Auditorium, in the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael, California.  —  He was there to kick off publicity for his latest book, The Assault on Reason, which had been released just the day before.

More Than Ever, It Pays to Be the Top Executive  —  Like most companies, Office Depot has long made sure that its chief executive was the highest-paid employee.  Ten years ago, the $2.2 million pay package of its chief was more than double that of his No. 2.  The fifth-ranked executive received less than one-third.