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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Ron Paul Tops McCain in Cash on Hand  —  ABC News' George Stephanopoulos Reports: Though often regarded as a longshot candidate for president, Republican Ron Paul tells ABC News that he has an impressive $2.4 million in cash on hand after raising an equal amount during the second quarter …

Mayor's Girlfriend Placed on Leave  —  Telemundo to Conduct "Internal Review" of Events  —  Telemundo anchor Mirthala Salinas, partner in an affair with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, is being placed on unpaid leave while her employer conducts "an internal review of the decision …

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 …

2008 Candidates Vow to Overhaul U.S. Health Care  —  There is no better measure of the power of the health care issue than this: Sixteen months before Election Day, presidential candidates in both parties are promising to overhaul the system and cover more — if not all — of the 44.8 million people without insurance.

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 …

The Taliban Challenges Jawa, Jawa Responds  —  No joke, the Taliban have posted a message on a well-known Islamic forum addressing me, Rusty Shackleford, indirectly.  In it, they gloat that their website is back online.  I'll just add: for now.  —  Here's a rough translation:

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 …

"They don't own the Democratic Party"  —  Joe Biden talks about lefty bloggers, the perils of candor in a YouTube age, Dick Cheney's secret thoughts, and how many troops a Biden administration would keep in Iraq. … Joe Biden speaks during a news conference at the Iowa statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday, July 3, 2007.

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.