Bless the Beasts and Children  —  Where did they go?  —  On 29 June, American and Iraqi soldiers were again fighting side-by-side as soldiers from Charley Company 1-12 CAV, led by Captain Clayton Combs, and Iraqi soldiers from the 5th IA, closed in on a village on the outskirts of Baqubah.

A Political Force With Many Philosophies  —  Survey of Independents, Who Could Be Key in 2008, Finds Attitudes From Partisan to Apathetic  —  Fred Wood, a Marietta, Ohio, retiree, voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and John F. Kerry in 2004.  In last year's midterm elections, he voted Republican for Senate and Democratic for governor.

Why Winston Wouldn't Stand For W  —  George W. Bush always wanted to be like a wartime British prime ministers.  He is.  But it's not the one he had in mind.  —  President Bush's favorite role model is, famously, Jesus, but Winston Churchill is close behind.

Lieberman Uses Foiled British Terror Plot To Push For Greater U.S. Domestic Spying  —  Appearing on ABC's This Week, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) used the foiled terror attempts in London to call for greater domestic spying here in the United States.  Lieberman said, "I hope these terrorist attacks …

Pelosi lays blame for missed goals on Senate  —  (06-30) 04:00 PDT Washington — The problem for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn't just President Bush.  It's the Senate.  —  Pelosi sounded more apologetic than celebratory Friday when she announced with her Senate counterpart …

Obama tops $30 million in second quarter  —  ABC News' George Stephanopoulos Reports: A source close to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., says his presidential campaign raised more than $30 million during the second quarter, which ended yesterday.  —  That figure tops Obama's haul during …

Home Grown Terror  —  According to Willie Rae, Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police, there are clear links between today's Glasgow incident and the London car bombs.  He declined to expand further, but I presume he meant more than that both events involved cars and petrol.

Roswell aliens theory revived by deathbed confession  —  EXACTLY 60 years ago, a light aircraft was flying over the Cascade Mountains in Washington State, at a height of around 3000m.  —  Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light illuminated the aircraft.  —  Visibility was good and as pilot …

Gangsta rap on death row as the US tunes out  —  To judge by their lyrics, gangsta rappers are adept at seeing off rivals with a bullet and their women with a slap.  —  But America's rappers are now trapped in a corner they don't seem able to shoot their way out of, with either weapons or words.

Centenary a modern sci-fi giant  —  PRINCE WILLIAM County—When Robert A. Heinlein opened his Colorado Springs newspaper on April 5, 1958, he read a full-page ad demanding that the Eisenhower administration stop testing nuclear weapons.  The science-fiction author was flabbergasted.

Blair launches stinging attack on 'absurd' British Islamists  —  Tony Blair has launched a powerful attack on 'absurd' British Islamists who have nurtured a false 'sense of grievance' that they are being oppressed by Britain and the United States.  —  In his most outspoken remarks on Islamists …

Civilian deaths decreasing  —  BAGHDAD — Iraqi civilian deaths in Baghdad dropped significantly in June, a possible indication that recent American military operations around the country and raids on car-bomb shops in the "belts" ringing the capital are starting to pay off.

Zimbabwe's top cleric urges Britain to invade  —  ZIMBABWE'S leading cleric has called on Britain to invade the country and topple President Robert Mugabe.  Pius Ncube, the Archbishop of Bulawayo, warned that millions were facing death from famine, unable to survive amid inflation believed to have soared to 15,000%.

Perspective on Her Side, Mrs. Edwards Enters Fray  —  Three months after Elizabeth Edwards said that her cancer had returned in inoperable form, her role and influence in John Edwards's presidential campaign is undiminished.  She has made a flurry of charged public appearances …

Bush Is Told to Justify Executive Privilege  —  The chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary committees yesterday ratcheted up their fight with President Bush over documents on the firing of U.S. attorneys, sending the White House a barbed letter demanding that the president back down from a claim …