Pakistani leader escapes attempt on life  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Gunners fired after President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's plane took off from a military base on Friday in what one official described as a failed assassination attempt.  —  Security forces quickly raided a nearby home …

Iran's Proxy War  —  Tehran is on the offensive against us throughout the Middle East.  Will Congress respond?  —  Earlier this week, the U.S. military made public new and disturbing information about the proxy war that Iran is waging against American soldiers and our allies in Iraq.

exclusive: rupert murdoch buys dow jones, owners of the wall street journal  —  Rupert Murdoch has succeeded with his $5 billion bid for Dow Jones.  Negotiations are now complete and a formal announcement is expected next week.  —  Rupert Murdoch has succeeded with his $5 billion bid for Dow Jones …

Court Rejects Domestic Spying Suit  —  CINCINNATI — A federal appeals court Friday ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging President Bush's domestic spying program, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to sue.  —  The 2-1 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel vacated …

G.O.P. Support for Iraq Policy Erodes Further  —  Support among Republicans for President Bush's Iraq policy eroded further on Thursday as another senior lawmaker, Senator Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, broke with the White House just as Congressional Democrats prepared to renew their challenge to the war.

SiCKO: Ask The Right Question First  —  I saw Michael Moore's SiCKO last weekend, and I strongly recommend it to all.  It's Moore at his best — or worst, if you're on the receiving end — because it makes its main points powerfully and convincingly.  It's hilarious, infuriating, saddening and enlightening all at once.

Baqubah Update: 05 July 2007  —  Today marks "D +16" of Operation "Arrowhead Ripper," the Battle for Baqubah.  Arrowhead Ripper kicked off on 19 June 07.  I have several dispatches in the works about the major events since that time.  Although the serious fighting seems to be over …

Washington Talk Radio Station Drops Bill O'Reilly  —  The Washington Post reports today that O'Reilly's cancellation is a "case in point" of how poorly conservative radio programs have fared in DC: … Yet despite their underwhelming performance, numerous right-wing radio hosts have been given repeated opportunities to succeed in DC.

Live Earth Concert to Be Held in Washington on Saturday  —  Live Earth will be live in Washington, after all.  —  Al Gore's global-warming concert series — previously given the cold shoulder here — will touch down for a satellite show at the National Museum of the American Indian tomorrow morning …

White House questions Dems' zeal for oversight  —  The White House Thursday raised questions about the level of Democratic oversight, saying that the time the majority spends on investigating the Bush administration could be used to pass bills.  —  Bush spokesman Scott Stanzel told reporters during …

Anti-American July 4th  —  July 4th in San Francisco.  So many things to do!  —  After attending the AK Press "F**k the Fourth" party as a pre-holiday warm-up, I was hungry for some more Independence Day patriotism — San Francisco style.  —  I was tempted at first by a public event celebrating the …

Republican enters race for ill senator's seat  —  South Dakota state Rep. Joel Dykstra (R) has officially entered the race for the Republican nomination to face Sen. Tim Johnson (D) in 2008.  —  Dykstra filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday and declared himself a "candidate for U.S. Senate."

Obama's Tightrope  —  The world felt topsy-turvy as I watched the presidential debate held at Howard University last week.  Up seemed down and everything was out of sync as the front-runners for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, spoke.

Ellen Goodman: The segregationist  —  Clarence Thomas now sits at the right edge of a conservative court  —  BOSTON - Let me wish the Supreme Court justices a fond farewell as they set out on their summer vacation.  We can all rest assured now that they won't do any more damage until the first week in October.

Hamas won the propaganda war this week  —  Our columnist says freeing Alan Johnston was no good deed  —  How do you like your jihadi?  Is yours the avenging physician sort; self-immolating practitioner of weird medicine outside nightclubs and airport terminals who hopes to take hundreds …

War Costs Soar by a Third; Total Could Top $1.4 Trillion  —  It's not just the troops that are surging.  War costs are up for American operations in Iraq — way up, more than a third higher than last year.  In the first half of this fiscal year, the Defense Department's …