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 …

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.

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

House Republican wants to restrict Pelosi's travel  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will not be permitted to use State Department funds to travel to nations that are known to have sponsored terrorism if a Republican amendment to appropriations legislation passes the House on Thursday.

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 …

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 …

Backlash grows against British award of knighthood to Salman Rushdie  —  Pakistani hard-line clerics respond with an award of their own to Osama bin Laden.  —  The award of a knighthood to Salman Rushdie, author of "The Satanic Verses," has prompted deep criticism from Egypt's parliament …

Ashcroft Tells of Surveillance Disputes  —  House Panel Hears Of Battle Within Administration  —  Former attorney general John D. Ashcroft told the House intelligence committee yesterday about disputes in the Bush administration over aspects of its domestic surveillance program …

List of journalists taking sides  —  And their explanations, from 'Yikes!' to 'They're all in somebody's pocket'  —  Have you captured a candidate on camera?  We want to see it.  Click here to send us your pictures and videos, and we'll post the best on MSNBC.com.

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.

NBC'S $1M DEAL FOR PARIS CHAT  —  NBC has agreed to pay as much as $1 million for Paris Hilton's first after-jail interview, which will appear on the "Today" show, The Post has learned.  —  Sources told The Post the sit-down will be conducted by Meredith Vieira the day after the heir-head is sprung some time next week.

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 …

Meet the New Bosses  —  NEWS: After crashing the gate of the political establishment, bloggers are looking more like the next gatekeepers.  —  Last June, Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, former soldier, one-time Reagan Republican, and proprietor of the wildly successful liberal blog Daily Kos …

The Man Who Knows Too Little  —  WHAT RUDY GIULIANI'S GREEDY DECISION TO QUIT THE IRAQ STUDY GROUP REVEALS ABOUT HIS CANDIDACY.  —  If you don't read Newsday, you might not know (I didn't until this week) that Rudy Giuliani was an original member of the Iraq Study Group …

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 …