White House Denies Request for Documents in Ex-NFL Player's Death  —  The White House has refused to give Congress documents about the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman, with White House counsel Fred F. Fielding saying that certain papers relating to discussion of the friendly-fire shooting …

Kucinich challenges Edwards and Clinton  —  Dennis Kucinich has challenged Hillary Clinton and John Edwards each to debate him one on one.  —  He has been on the warpath since the two were caught on open mics yesterday at the NAACP debate, apparently proposing to have debates without the long-shot candidates.

Iranians arrest 14 squirrels for spying  —  Islamic Republic's intelligence agents allege rodents were carrying advanced Western spy gear  —  Iranian intelligence operatives recently detained over a dozen squirrels found within the nation's borders, claiming the rodents were serving as spies …

AP Poll: Public gives Congress low marks  —  WASHINGTON — In the eyes of the public, Congress is doing even worse than the president.  —  Public satisfaction with the job lawmakers are doing has fallen 11 points since May, to 24 percent, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll.

Happy Blogiversary  —  It's been 10 years since the blog was born.  Love them or hate them, they've roiled presidential campaigns and given everyman a global soapbox.  Twelve commentators — including Tom Wolfe, Newt Gingrich, the SEC's Christopher Cox and actress-turned-blogger Mia Farrow — on what blogs mean to them.

Public Defenders Get Better Marks When on Salary  —  Some poor people accused of federal crimes are represented by full-time federal public defenders who earn salaries, others by court-appointed lawyers who bill by the hour.  A new study from an economist at Harvard says there is a surprisingly wide gap …

Rivalries Split McCain's Team  —  After Months of Staff Fights, Rick Davis Emerges as the Leader of a Diminished Campaign  —  After weeks of internal struggles over who would run John McCain's presidential campaign, three key aides went to the candidate in January and told him he had to take action.

The Saturday Cartoons  —  Oh, boy, are you all in for a good time with today's animation.  Our friend Nick Anderson at the Houston Chronicle does some unique mixing of cartoon animation and still pictures and comes up with a winner that's both poignant and funny.  Have a look:

Gaps in Training Iraqi Forces Worry Top U.S. Commanders  —  American commanders said Friday that the effort to train Iraqi Army and police units had slowed in recent months and would need to be expanded to enable any large-scale reduction in American force levels.

G.O.P. Senators Press to Change Strategy in Iraq  —  With the Senate stymied so far in its bid to assemble enough votes to sway the White House on Iraq, two leading Republicans offered a new approach on Friday that would require President Bush to present a strategy by October that began limiting the involvement of American forces.

Conrad Black guilty of multiple fraud charges  —  Conrad Black, the former media tycoon, last night faced years in jail after an American jury found him guilty of criminal fraud and obstructing justice.  —  Conrad Black arrives at court before the verdicts were delivered

Rove Strategy Paper Found in Nixon Archive  —  The year was 1973, and Karl Rove was looking for help — from the Nixon White House.  —  Tucked away inside 78,000 pages of documents from the Nixon administration, released by the National Archives earlier this week, is a little gem …

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOT MUCH, PART TWO  —  It occurs to me that my discussion of lobbying Fred Thompson may have performed in 1991 on behalf of an abortion rights group is somewhat superficial.  It's true that traditionally in this country lawyers are not identified with the positions of their clients.

Panel Accord on Increasing Cigarette Tax  —  Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee reached agreement Friday on a bipartisan plan calling for a big increase in the cigarette tax to pay for a $35 billion expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program over the next five years.