Vice President Exempts His Office from the Requirements for Protecting Classified Information  —  The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, Vice President Cheney exempted his office from the presidential order that establishes government-wide procedures …

Poll: Bush hits lowest approval rating of presidency  —  President Bush registers the lowest approval rating of his presidency—making him the least popular president since Nixon—in the new NEWSWEEK Poll.  —  Iraq isn't the only issue dragging Bush's approval ratings down

White House near decision to close Guantanamo  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration is nearing a decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and move the terror suspects there to military prisons elsewhere, The Associated Press has learned.

Senate Approves Stricter Fuel Standards for Autos  —  The Senate voted this evening to raise fuel-economy requirements for cars and sport utility vehicles, demanding that they get 35 miles per gallon by 2020.  —  The lawmakers first announced their agreement on raising the standards …

Operation Phantom Thunder: The Battle of Iraq  —  Baghdad and the Belts.  Red bordered units identified as active in offensive operations.  Click map to view.  —  A status update on the operations in the Baghdad Belts and beyond  —  Operation Phantom Thunder, the name of the overarching operation …

Deputy AG Says He Was Kept Out of the Loop on U.S. Attorney Firings  —  Paul McNulty Tells Congress He Had 'No Knowledge' of DOJ Plans Before October  —  The second in command at the Justice Department said Thursday that he was kept out of the loop regarding the controversial U.S. attorney firings last year.

RUSHDIE'S KNIGHTHOOD REIGNITES "SALMANOPHOBIA" AT HOME AND ABROAD.  —  "I am delighted for him," Ian McEwan said, when told that his friend and fellow novelist Salman Rushdie had been knighted.  "He's a wonderful writer, and this sends a firm message to the book-burners and their appeasers."

Mass Culture 2.0  —  This month, Encyclopedia Britannica's blog is serializing a commentary on the cultural effects of Web 2.0.  The author, Michael Gorman, is dean of library services at California State University at Fresno and a former president of the American Library Association.

Nader ponders run, calls Clinton 'coward'  —  Ralph Nader says he is seriously considering running for president in 2008 because he foresees another Tweedledum-Tweedledee election that offers little real choice to voters.  —  "You know the two parties are still converging …

The Film Take Back America Took Back  —  As a result of the attention surrounding my film about the 2007 Conservative Political Action Conference-it was a YouTube hit-the liberal Campaign for America's Future asked me to produce a similar video about their annual conference, Take Back America (TBA), held in Washington.

Obama Announces FY08 Federal Funding Requests  —  Discloses earmarks to improve government transparency  —  WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today announced that he had requested federal funding for the following projects, in the amounts designated by his constituents …

A Visit to Fatah's Torture Chamber  —  A building formerly occupied by Fatah's intelligence service in Gaza was long notorious for torture and execution.  Now Hamas is in control — and is letting former inmates visit the chamber of horrors.  —  The cells are small, perhaps six feet by six feet …

Lincoln's Example for Iraq  —  In his only term in Congress, Abraham Lincoln was an ardent opponent of the Mexican War.  He introduced a series of resolutions that challenged President James Polk to show the "spot" of American soil on which Mexicans had spilled American blood …

MyDD Interview with Nancy Pelosi  —  Yesterday morning, Wednesday June 20, I had the opportunity to sit down for a few minutes with the Speaker of the United States House, Nancy Pelosi.  —  During the interview, which immediately followed Speaker Pelosi's speech at the Take Back America conference …

Lott: 'I've already offended everybody'  —  Fence?  Goats?  What is Lott talking about?  —  WASHINGTON —What does a fence on the United State-Mexico border have to do with goats?  —  Sen. Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss., was talking to reporters Wednesday about the immigration bill …