Approval of Congress lowest in a decade  —  Only about a quarter of Americans approve of how it's doing its job, a poll shows; most see 'business as usual.'  —  WASHINGTON — Fueled by disappointment at the pace of change since Democrats assumed the majority on Capitol Hill …

President Bush 'has watch stolen off wrist' during Albanian walkabout  —  Whatever happened to the president's watch?  —  One moment President George W. Bush was glad-handing Albanians on Sunday, proudly sporting a watch with a dark strap on his left wrist.  Moments later, it was gone.

Border Security Can Be Implemented Without Senate Bill  —  Today, nine U.S. Senators wrote a letter to President Bush urging him to fulfill the border security provisions listed in the Senate immigration bill whether the legislation passes or not.  Each border security trigger in the bill …

Fact vs. Fiction: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales  —  Americans have lost confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.  Below are some of the reasons why Senators should vote today to express a lack of confidence in the Attorney General.  On issue after issue, Gonzales's statements leave Americans …

In Parting Shot, Blair Calls Press a 'Feral Beast'  —  In the land that produced "Scoop," Evelyn Waugh's novel of journalistic ambition and ineptitude, it would seem unsurprising for politicians to criticize reporters on occasion.  But was it justified, as Prime Minister Tony Blair did today, to call the press a "feral beast"?

CAIR membership falls 90% since 9/11  —  Membership in the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has declined more than 90 percent since the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to tax documents obtained by The Washington Times.  —  The number of reported members spiraled …

McCain camp enters campaign 'dog days'  —  Bracing for a fundraising report at the end of the month that is unlikely to alleviate the headaches that have plagued his campaign, Arizona Sen. John McCain and his top advisers have fashioned a survival plan they hope will steady his GOP nomination run.

Bramble ramble: State senator leaves Romney camp, backs McCain for White House  —  Sen. John McCain has a new Utah ally in his race for the presidency - state Senate Majority Leader Curtis Bramble.  —  But this is far from the standard political endorsement.

What Would Harry Truman Do?  —  Madeleine Albright just walked right in to one of my pet peeves, calling for the United States to adhere to a moderate (i.e., neither isolationist nor imperial) foreign policy, and then sets it up with the old "consider Harry Truman."

Do away with public schools  —  Government is inept at running schools.  It should subsidize education for needy students, then get out of the way.  —  HERE'S A GOOD question for you: Why have public schools at all?  —  OK, cue the marching music.  We need public schools because blah blah blah and yada yada yada.

President Bush Attends Dedication of Victims of Communism Memorial  —  Washington, D.C.  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming.  Please be seated.  Dr. Edwards, thanks for your kind words.  Congressman Lantos — no better friend to freedom, by the way; Congressman Rohrabacher, the same.

Mueller Often Uses FBI Jet Bought for Counterterrorism  —  When the FBI asked Congress this spring to provide $3.6 million in the war spending bill for its Gulfstream V jet, it said the money was needed to ensure that the aircraft, packed with state-of-the-art security and communications gear …

David Chase speaks!  —  What do you do when your TV world ends?  You go to dinner, then keep quiet.  Sunday night, "Sopranos" creator David Chase took his wife out for dinner in France, where he's fled to avoid "all the Monday morning quarterbacking" about the show's finale.

Disaffected conservatives set a litmus test for '08  —  Want vow to curb presidential power  —  WASHINGTON — A new political group recently asked Mitt Romney to promise not to wiretap Americans without a judge's approval or to imprison US citizens without a trial as "enemy combatants."

Now That I Have Your Attention...  Many of you have asked about how Democrats can get through the culture of the South and the Heartland...God, guns, gays, and race.  Since I have been stereotyped (by some) as a racist over the last 12 hours or so, let's start with the racial wedges that the Republicans have used against us.

Politico Hedges Its Bets, Claims Conservatives Will 'Back' And 'Bolt' From Giuliani  —  On May 28, Politico's senior political writer David Paul Kuhn wrote an article with the headline "Social conservatives bite bullet, back Rudy."  Kuhn's lead declared the conservative base was increasingly falling …

O.J. Simpson Hits Today's News Coverage — Explains Louisville Flap  —  NEW YORK It's not every day you get a phone message from O.J. Simpson.  But in the process of completing a story for E&P's next print issue about Associated Press reporter Linda Deutsch, the longtime AP scribe known …

Death or Glory Part III of IV  —  Death or Glory III of IV  —  Queen's Royal Lancers  —  There is an entirely different war out in the desert.  I've been telling American soldiers since my return from the British Army that our brothers and sisters are good to go, no matter what their own press says.

Senate hopefuls step forward  —  A lot of Republicans — maybe 20, maybe more — want to replace the late Craig Thomas in the U.S. Senate, State GOP Chairman Fred Parady said Monday.  —  Applicants already include recently resigned Wyoming U.S. Attorney Matt Mead, state Rep. Colin Simpson of Cody …

Hamas TV: We have taken over the northern Gaza Strip  —  Hamas launched a full-scale attack Tuesday afternoon against Fatah security bases and positions in Gaza, and succeeded in taking over a number of them, Israel Radio reported.  —  Hamas-affiliated television said that the organization overtook …

U.S. Warns Iraq That Progress Is Needed Soon  —  The top American military commander for the Middle East has warned Iraq's prime minister in a closed-door conversation that the Iraqi government needs to make tangible political progress by next month to counter the growing tide of opposition to the war in Congress.

Giuliani Renews Ties With the Police Chief He Ousted  —  The two men, Rudolph W. Giuliani and his former police commissioner William J. Bratton, had not spoken to each other in 10 years.  When they had crossed paths at social gatherings, they exchanged little more than icy nods.