Appeals Court Orders Enemy Combatant Free by Military  —  In a stinging rejection of one of the Bush administration's central assertions about the scope of executive authority to combat terrorism, a federal appeals court ordered the Pentagon to release a man being held as an enemy combatant.

Majority of Republicans Doubt Theory of Evolution  —  More Americans accept theory of creationism than evolution  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The majority of Republicans in the United States do not believe the theory of evolution is true and do not believe that humans evolved over millions of years from less advanced forms of life.

Video: Dennis Miller goes nuclear on Harry Reid  —  The e-mails are flooding in.  You want it?  You got it.  —  If Rasmussen's right, this should resonate broadly.  —  Blowback

Bush Vows to Get Immigration Bill Passed  —  As he heads home from an eight-day European swing to face a hostile Congress, President Bush today lashed out at Democrats for holding a vote of no confidence on his attorney general, and vowed to get his stalled immigration legislation passed, saying, "I'll see you at the bill signing."

New L.A. Times/Bloomberg Poll  —  John McCain's presidential candidacy clearly is struggling, and a just-completed Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll is not going to buoy his camp's spirits.  —  We won't reveal the exact numbers here; for that, you can check The Times website later today for all the numbers and analysis.

Go Ahead And Shoot At Me  —  I woke up this morning and was going to start my stint as a guest correspondent by trying to kick up a dialogue on how my people in rural America are getting screwed into the stone ages.  As an inexperienced blogger (I think this is the third time I've posted anything) …

Richard Rorty, 75; Leading U.S. Pragmatist Philosopher  —  Richard Rorty, 75, an intellectual whose often deeply unconventional approach to mainstream philosophic thought brought him wide public recognition as one of the leading thinkers of his era, died June 8 at his home in Palo Alto, Calif. He had pancreatic cancer.

THAAAT'S What We Were All Waiting For?  Angry 'Sopranos' Fans Crash HBO Website  —  The line to cancel HBO starts here.  What a ridiculously disappointing end lacking in creativity to The Sopranos saga.  But if you're one of those who found it perversely interesting, then don't bother to read on.

Romney's Run Has Mormons Wary of Scrutiny  —  LOGAN, Utah — In this wide valley where the twin spires of the Mormon temple dominate the landscape and some neighborhoods have a Mormon chapel every few blocks, Mitt Romney's bid for president is both a proud sign of progress and a cause of trepidation.

States Finding Fiscal Surprise: A Cash Surplus  —  State lawmakers across the country, their coffers unexpectedly full of cash, have been handing out tax cuts, spending money on fixing roads, schools and public buildings, and socking something away for less fruitful years.

Huckabee: 'Most' Prisoners In The U.S. 'Would Love' To Be In Guantanamo  —  Former Secretary of State Colin Powell condemned the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay yesterday, calling it "a major problem for America's perception" and charging, "if it was up to me, I would close Guantanamo — not tomorrow, this afternoon."

Poll: Rural Vote No Longer a Lock for Republicans  —  · A new national poll indicates rural Americans are no longer reliably Republican, and the Bush administration's conduct of the war in Iraq seems mainly to blame.  —  People from the nation's smallest places had the biggest impact in the last two presidential elections.

Appeal blocks release in teen sex case … ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — A judge on Monday threw out the 10-year sentence against a 21-year-old for a consensual sex encounter he had as a teenager.  But the state attorney general quickly filed a notice of appeal, keeping Genarlow Wilson in prison for the time being.

Of Tulips and Fred Thompson  —  Tulip mania gripped Holland in the 1630s.  Prices soared, speculation raged, bulbs promising especially exotic or intense colors became the objects of such frenzied bidding that some changed hands 10 times in a day.  Then, suddenly, the spell was broken …