Records Show Ex-Senator's Work for Family Planning Unit  —  Billing records show that former Senator Fred Thompson spent nearly 20 hours working as a lobbyist on behalf of a group seeking to ease restrictive federal rules on abortion counseling in the 1990s, even though he recently …

Study group chair: Hit al Qaeda in Pakistan  —  (CNN) — U.S. forces should go into Pakistan to rout al Qaeda from the safe haven it has found in the mountains on the border with Afghanistan, a co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group said.  —  Former Rep. Lee Hamilton, who also served …

North to Alaska  —  Rep. Don Young attacked his fellow Republicans on the House floor Wednesday, as he defended education funds allocated to his home-state of Alaska.  —  "You want my money, my money," Young stridently declared before warning conservatives that, "Those who bite me will be bitten back."

Sex Ed for Kindergarteners 'Right Thing to Do,' Says Obama  —  ABC News' Teddy Davis and Lindsey Ellerson Report: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., told Planned Parenthood Tuesday that sex education for kindergarteners, as long as it is "age-appropriate," is "the right thing to do."

Transformer explosion rattles Manhattan  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — One person died and 26 were injured after a steam pipe burst in midtown Manhattan Wednesday, causing a transformer to explode and sending thick plumes of steam and ash into the air near Grand Central Terminal, New York officials said.

A Resolute Condoleezza Rice  —  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been at George W. Bush's side since he was sworn in as President in 2001, first as National Security Advisor and now as the nation's top diplomat.  Like the President, she has been pilloried for not adequately recognizing …

Whose Conspiracy?  —  The government has concluded its case against Jose Padilla and yesterday, to no one's surprise U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Cooke refused a defense request for directed verdict of not guilty.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Frazier claimed "I think it is a very tightly knit conspiracy."

Hummer Owner Gets Angry Message  —  Vandals Batter D.C. Man's SUV, Slash Its Tires and Scratch In an Eco Note  —  On a narrow, leafy street in Northwest Washington, where Prius hybrid cars and Volvos are the norm, one man bought a flashy gray Hummer that was too massive to fit in his garage.

Ex-Cheney aide gets 10 years in prison in spy case  —  NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - A former White House official who took top secret documents from U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's office and gave them to opposition figures in the Philippines was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years in prison.

Larry Flynt says he has 30 more names!  —  Larry Flynt told Larry King that he has at least 30 more names to release in his quest to expose Republican hypocrisy.  And ye shall be shocked at a certain Senator that he has left unnamed so far.  Sounds like a James Dobson/Wingnut/phony family values man …

Bush: No Deal On Children's Health Plan  —  President Says He Objects On Philosophical Grounds  —  President Bush yesterday rejected entreaties by his Republican allies that he compromise with Democrats on legislation to renew a popular program that provides health coverage to poor children …

Stephen Colbert applauds next feminist role model: "The Susan B. Anthony of Pole Dancing"  —  What's the best thing about working from home?  Stephen Colbert is my lunch break.  Just finished watching my DVR'd Colbert Report of Monday's show, and came across a gem of a segment on Johnna Mink, the "Susan B. Anthony of pole dancing."

FBI remotely installs spyware to trace bomb threat  —  The FBI used a novel type of remotely installed spyware last month to investigate who was e-mailing bomb threats to a high school near Olympia, Wash.  —  Federal agents obtained a court order on June 12 to send spyware called CIPAV …

Presidential candidate hospitalized  —  (CNN) — Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich remains hospitalized Wednesday in Ohio after aides say he suffered a severe case of food poisoning.  —  Kucinich spokesman Andy Juniewicz said the Ohio congressman started feeling ill Sunday …