Thompson, as a lobbyist, took abortion rights assignment  —  A spokesman for the presidential hopeful denies he did the work, a claim an ex-colleague calls "bizarre."  —  Former Tennessee Sen. Fred D. Thompson, who is campaigning for president as a "pro-life" Republican …

Senate Floor To Be a Stage For '08 Race  —  Antiwar Candidates Seeking the Spotlight  —  The four Senate Democrats seeking their party's presidential nomination will take their campaigns to the chamber's floor next week, pushing new limits on U.S. involvement in Iraq in an attempt to burnish their antiwar credentials.

Will Her Face Determine His Fortune?  —  AS the election of 2008 approaches with its cast of contenders who bring unprecedented diversity to the quest for the White House, the voting public has been called on to ponder several questions: Is America ready for a woman to be president?  What about a black man?

Glasgow Suspect Angered by Iraq War, Relative Says  —  Bilal Abdulla, one of the two doctors arrested after a blazing Jeep Cherokee rammed into the Glasgow Airport terminal on Saturday, is a deeply religious Iraqi who was angry that his prominent Sunni family "lost everything" …

Much of US favors Bush impeachment: poll  —  Nearly half of the US public wants President George W. Bush to face impeachment, and even more favor that fate for Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a poll out Friday.  —  The survey by the American Research Group found that 45 percent support …

Live Earth non-update  —  I don't know about the rest of the gang but I was kinda looking forward to spending the weekend doing cracks about rock stars taking their private jets halfway round the world to tell the little people why they need to sell the second-hand Honda Civic and get back on the bus.

The Saturday Cartoons  —  We have an added treat today: Another hilarious Walt Handelsman animation from deep inside Dick Cheney's hidden bunker to the tune of — if you can believe this — "Wouldn't it be Lovely."  —  Click on the screenshot above or go here to see it.

Live Aid is promoting green to save the planet - what planet are they on?  —  As Madonna bounds on to the huge Wembley stage to save the planet, how the assembled Greenies will cheer.  —  The superstar is today fronting the massive Live Earth event, with nine concerts played …

Lindsey Graham: Escalation 'Is Working Beyond My Expectations'  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), returning from a visit this week to Iraq along with his pro-escalation partner Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), offered the following assessment of the situation in Iraq:

Yesterday's ruling on NSA warrantless eavesdropping  —  The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday, by a 2-1 decision, vacated last August's Order of the Order from District Court Judge Anna Diggs Taylor which enjoined the Bush administration from eavesdropping without warrants.

Justices snipe at each other in opinions  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — One Supreme Court justice says his fellow conservatives are "too dismissive" of government efforts to ensure racial diversity in schools.  Another more liberal member says those on the right did "serious violence" to a high school student's free speech rights.

Former 9/11 panel member says U.S. not secure  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Al Qaeda is gaining strength and the United States is still not as safe as it should be, former Indiana congressman Tim Roemer said Saturday.  —  Speaking about a week after failed bombing attacks in Britain …

The textbook terrorists  —  The roots of last week's attempted terrorist attacks in Britain lie not in poverty but in the thwarted aspirations of middle-class Muslims  —  One of the most shocking revelations in the aftermath of the July 7 attack, whose second anniversary falls today …

"Media Matters"; by Paul Waldman  —  The Haircut siren song  —  "It is some kind of commentary on the state of American politics that as Edwards has campaigned for president, vice president and now president again, his hair seems to have attracted as much attention as, say, his position on health care."

NO FOURTH AMENDMENT PROTECTION IN E-MAIL ADDRESSES, IP ADDRESSES, NINTH CIRCUIT HOLDS: Commentators and Congress have long assumed that government surveillance of non-content "header" information like e-mail addresses and IP addresses, typically done by a service provider, do not violate a Fourth Amendment …

New battery packs powerful punch  —  Batteries have long been vital to laptops and cellphones.  They are increasingly supplying electricity to an unlikely recipient: the power grid itself.  —  Until recently, large amounts of electricity could not be efficiently stored.

Jihadists On Defense  —  On July 4, Zawahiri released a new video tape.  The production values are pretty good, and Zawahiri is intercut with other footage, including television clips.  What is striking about Zawahiri's message, however, is how defensive it is.  And what Zawahiri is defensive about, is events in Iraq.