White House won't rule out Libby pardon  —  WASHINGTON - The White House on Tuesday declined to rule out the possibility of an eventual pardon for former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.  But spokesman Tony Snow said, for now, President Bush is satisfied with his decision to commute Libby's 2 1/2-year prison sentence.

BROWN: DON'T SAY TERRORISTS ARE MUSLIMS  —  Gordon Brown has banned ministers from using the word "Muslim" in ­connection with the ­terrorism crisis.  —  The Prime Minister has also instructed his team - including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith - that the phrase "war on ­terror" is to be dropped.

Romney Holds Nine-Point Lead in New Hampshire  —  Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has the lead in the first Rasmussen Reports poll of New Hampshire's Republican Presidential Primary.  Romney currently attracts support from 26% of Likely Primary Voters, nine points more than his nearest competitor.

In Strategy Shift, Gates Envisions Iraq Troop Cuts  —  Pullback Is Deemed Key  —  To Forging a Consensus  —  On Long-Haul Plans  —  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates and some allies in the Bush administration are seeking to build bipartisan political support for a long-term U.S. presence …

Al Qaeda In Iraq Behind U.K. Bomb Plot?  —  Sources Tell CBS News Suspects Recruited By Leader Of Terror Group's Iraq Branch  —  (CBS/AP) British intelligence services increasingly believe that the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow bare the fingerprints of al Qaeda in Iraq, CBS News has learned.

How a 'gay rights' leader became straight  —  Homosexuality came easy to me, because I was already weak.  —  My mom died when I was 19.  My father had died when I was 13.  At an early age, I was already confused about who I was and how I felt about others.

Rep. Hunter: Ann Coulter Is 'Approaching That Level Of Being A Great American'  —  Yesterday on MSNBC's Hardball, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) defended Ann Coulter's attacks on John Edwards, including that she wishes he "had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."

U.S. Says Iran Helped Iraqis Kill Five G.I.'s  —  Agents of Iran helped plan a January raid in Shiite holy city of Karbala in Iraq in which five American soldiers were killed by Islamic militants, an American military spokesman said Monday.  The charge was the most specific allegation …

Update on "Bless the Beasts and Children"  —  Since the publication of "Bless the Beasts and Children" many questions have arisen: some of which I can and will answer here, and some whose answers lie elsewhere.  —  Today, late afternoon on 3 July in Baqubah, Colonel Hiduit from 2nd Brigade 5th Iraqi Army …