Why Bush Gave Scooter Libby a Pass  —  As is often the case in the Bush White House, it was a decision made swiftly, and with stealth.  For weeks, allies of I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby had aggressively lobbied the president to pardon Dick Cheney's former chief of staff.

Seeing Al Qaeda Around Every Corner  —  AS domestic support for the war in Iraq continues to melt away, President Bush and the United States military in Baghdad are increasingly pointing to a single villain on the battlefield: Al Qaeda.  —  Bush mentioned the terrorist group 27 times …

Powell tried to talk Bush out of war  —  THE former American secretary of state Colin Powell has revealed that he spent 2½ hours vainly trying to persuade President George W Bush not to invade Iraq and believes today's conflict cannot be resolved by US forces.

Fifty bucks for a beer?  It was Livid Earth in Sydney  —  Cool start ... scientists from the British research station in Antarctica were the first to kick off the Live Earth concerts with their indie band, Nunatak.  —  Out front, Crowded House were getting reacquainted …

Smelly Journalism Dept: Fred Thompson's Wife  —  To those of you who roll your eyes and groan when you hear people go on and on about the biased news media that injects its personal opinions into news stories and peppers them with assumptions that the writer more than "critics say" seems to hold, roll your eyes no longer.

Files show talks on 'vote caging'  —  Discussions with elections chief were prior to '04 election  —  TALLAHASSEE - Internal city memos show the issue of Republican "vote caging" efforts in Jacksonville's African-American neighborhoods was discussed in the weeks before the 2004 election …

Sen. Schumer says they are thinking of calling Patrick Fitzgerald in for questioning  —  While talking about the Scooter Libby commutation on Face the Nation, Sen. Schumer said he talked to Pat Leahy about calling Patrick Fitzgerald in for questioning about Bush and Cheney because they didn't talk …

Three men in jail over bomb at church  —  Three Burleson men who belong to a "radical Christian activist group" were in the Johnson County Jail on Friday night after a church deacon caught two of them attempting to ignite an explosive device on Independence Day at a church under construction in north Burleson, authorities said Friday.

Back-to-back Colo. fundraisers for Sen. Clinton  —  Aspen - Sen. Hillary Clinton drew powerful, deep-pocketed crowds at a pair of fundraisers here Saturday, speaking at length on issues from health care to the environment to removing American troops from Iraq.

Getting Closer To Omar  —  Pakistan announced the capture of senior Taliban figures, including two close aides to Mullah Omar, just a few hours ago.  Security forces captured four high-value targets in two raids in the city of Quetta: … Pervez Musharraf survived another assassination attempt …

Administration Shaving Yardstick for Iraq Gains  —  Goals Unmet; Smaller Strides to Be Promoted  —  The Iraqi government is unlikely to meet any of the political and security goals or timelines President Bush set for it in January when he announced a major shift in U.S. policy …

Iraq's Sadr back in Iran - U.S. military sources  —  Source: Reuters  —  BAGHDAD, July 8 (Reuters) - Fiery Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has gone back to neighbouring Iran, U.S. military sources in Baghdad said on Sunday.  —  Earlier this year, U.S. officials said the anti-American cleric …