The Use of RNC E-Mail Accounts by White House Officials  —  The Oversight Committee has been investigating whether White House officials violated the Presidential Records Act by using e-mail accounts maintained by the Republican National Committee and the Bush Cheney '04 campaign for official White House communications.

Obama: Campaign's 'Punjab' remark was 'stupid'  —  Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama referred to as "stupid" and "caustic" his campaign's memo last week that implied rival Hillary Clinton's investments in India made her fit to represent the south Asian country.

Pakistan condemns Rushdie honor  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan on Monday condemned Britain's award of a knighthood to author Salman Rushdie as an affront to Muslim sentiments, and a Cabinet minister said the honor provided a justification for suicide attacks.

Duke University, Three Lacrosse Players Announce Settlement  —  Durham, NC — On Monday, Duke University leaders announced they have reached a settlement with David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann.  Below are statements about the settlement.  —  STATEMENT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THE PRESIDENT OF DUKE UNIVERSITY:

We've Lost.  Here's How To Handle It.  —  Last week's bloodshed in Iraq and the bombing of what remained of the historic Shiite shrine in Samarra and of two Sunni mosques in Basra were more reminders of a terrible truth: The war in Iraq is lost.  The only question that remains …

Surge Architect: More Time Needed  —  Fred Kagan, the man widely seen as the "architect" of the military surge in Iraq, sees signs of progress but warns that September is too early to make a final decision about how well it has achieved its goals.  Instead, in an interview with TIME.com …

Petraeus: Iraq 'Challenges' to Last for Years  —  Conditions in Iraq will not improve sufficiently by September to justify a drawdown of U.S. military forces, the top commander in Iraq said yesterday.  —  Asked whether he thought the job assigned to an additional 30,000 troops deployed …

Helping along global warming  —  TRIBUNE-REVIEW  —  Remember in January when the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its good friends in media trumpeted that 2006 was the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States?  —  NOAA based that finding …

Va. School's No-Contact Rule Is a Touchy Subject  —  Fairfax County middle school student Hal Beaulieu hopped up from his lunch table one day a few months ago, sat next to his girlfriend and slipped his arm around her shoulder.  That landed him a trip to the school office.  —  Among his crimes: hugging.

The Failed States Index 2007  —  By The Fund for Peace and FOREIGN POLICY magazine  —  The world's weakest states aren't just a danger to themselves.  They can threaten the progress and stability of countries half a world away.  In the third annual Failed States Index …