US may reduce forces in Iraq by spring  —  WASHINGTON - The U.S. may be able to reduce combat forces in Iraq by next spring if Iraq's own security forces continue to grow and improve, a senior American commander said Friday.  He denied reports the U.S. is arming Sunni insurgent groups to help in the fight against al-Qaida.

Third-in-Command at Justice Dept. Resigns  —  Mercer to Leave Washington Job but Keep U.S. Attorney's Position in Montana  —  The Justice Department's third-in-command announced his resignation yesterday, becoming the sixth aide to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to leave amid …

WSMV-TV: Thompson Announcement Set For Nashville  —  Headquarters To Be Based At Fall School building  —  Reported By Dennis Ferrier  —  NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Channel 4 News Nationwide Exclusive  —  Fred Thompson is set to announce that Nashville will be the home of his national campaign headquarters, WSMV is reporting.

A Mighty Heart  —  "A Mighty Heart" begins with shots of the teeming streets of Karachi, Pakistan, a city with a population that seems jammed in, shoulder to shoulder.  Terrorists will emerge from this sea of humanity, kidnap the American journalist Daniel Pearl and disappear.

Around The Sphere June 23, 2007  —  Our famous linkfest taking readers to intriguing reading at weblogs representing various opinions from all over the blogo-you-know-what.  Linked posts do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Moderate Voice or its writers.

Bush claims oversight exemption too  —  The White House says the president's own order on classified data does not apply to his office or the vice president's.  —  WASHINGTON — The White House said Friday that, like Vice President Dick Cheney's office, President Bush's office is not allowing …

Whoopsie!  Inhofe Tells Two Sharply Different Versions Of Story About Hillary "Fixing" Talk Radio  —  Oh, this is fun.  Thank you, Senator Inhofe, for the endless entertainment today!  —  As you know, Inhofe made a bunch of news today by alleging on the radio that he overheard Hillary …

Democrats Propose New Tax Rate on Investment Funds  —  Top House Democrats today introduced wide-ranging legislation that would more than double the tax rate that private equity firms, venture capital funds and many hedge funds pay on their gains.  —  The proposed legislation would cause …

Press Briefing by Dana Perino  —  White House Conference Center Briefing Room  —  MS. PERINO: Happy Friday.  One quick announcement.  Today the governor of Wyoming appointed John Barrasso to fill the vacancy caused by the unfortunate death of U.S. Senator Craig Thomas.

Fort Carson major, sir, has a job to do in the post-9/11 world  —  JUNCTION CITY, Kan. — It's the last day of training before he's deployed to Iraq and Maj. Andrew Olmsted is rubbing where the bright red blood is pooling in his short, bristly hair.  —  There was a small accident.

Fox News Visits Red House VA...Again  —  Further Update: More Fox News video here, this one with Shepard Smith.  —  Update: The video of the Sheikh Gilani feature with Catherine Herridge's interview can be found here.  [Wazpi has a much quicker wav file streaming video link in the commments — Dymphna]

BEFORE IT WAS FARCE!  Today, the Post plays the fool about Gore.  Long ago, they were bent on destruction:  —  PIMP V. SLIME: In the past two days, the New York Times has run a remarkable pair of candidate stories.  One of these news reports beats the bushes, looking for ways to suggest that John Edwards has been misbehaving.