Breaking: Reid Yanks Defense Authorization Bill To Force GOP's Hand  —  Ratcheting up the stakes in the wake of the GOP's successful blocking of a vote on Iraq withdrawal just moments ago, Harry Reid just announced on the Senate floor that he won't allow a vote on the entire Defense Authorization bill until …

Intelligence Puts Rationale For War on Shakier Ground  —  The White House faced fresh political peril yesterday in the form of a new intelligence assessment that raised sharp questions about the success of its counterterrorism strategy and judgment in making Iraq the focus of that effort.

Edwards ad touts him as a tough guy  —  CONCORD, N.H. - Elizabeth Edwards tells voters her husband, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, is a tough guy "who can stare the worst in the face and not blink" in an ad set to start airing Wednesday in New Hampshire.

US: Top al-Qaida in Iraq figure captured  —  BAGHDAD - The U.S. command said Wednesday the highest-ranking Iraqi in the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq has been arrested, adding that information from him indicates the group's foreign-based leadership wields considerable influence over the Iraqi chapter.

Obama, Clinton Draw Wall Street Donors Amid Bush Disenchantment  —  Wall Street donors are demonstrating their disenchantment with President George W. Bush and his policies on Iraq and the economy by giving more to Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton than to Republican candidates.

Christian Fantasy Genre Builds Niche Without Hogwarts, Muggles or Spells  —  Could the next Harry Potter be a devout Christian?  —  As the days tick down until Saturday, when a breathless world learns the fate of the teenage wizard, a new breed of fantasy fiction, with Potter-style stories, is emerging.

R. Milhous Giuliani  —  With the same rootless confidence that causes people to ignore hurricane warnings, many social conservatives remain in denial about Rudy Giuliani's chances of winning the Republican nomination.  —  But with three debates and eight months as the Republican front-runner under his belt …

Voters unhappy with Bush; Congress: Reuters poll  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most U.S. voters think the country is on the wrong track and remain deeply unhappy with President George W. Bush and Congress, but still feel good about their finances and optimistic about the future, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Flynt Ready to Implicate Another Senator  —  Larry King interviewed Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt last night on how he linked Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) to an alleged prostitution ring.  Flynt now says he's got information linking another U.S. Senator to a sex scandal.

Legal odds against Vick just got much longer … A grand jury indicted Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick on Tuesday, which at least partially answers one question that has lingered since the news first broke about an alleged dogfighting operation on property owned by Vick in Virginia: Was Vick involved?

Gore's message loses bite  —  Decrease Increase -  —  Submit comment:  —  ONLY one week after Live Earth, Al Gore's green credentials slipped while hosting his daughter's wedding in Beverly Hills.  —  Gore and his guests at the weekend ceremony dined on Chilean sea bass - arguably one of the world's most threatened fish species.

Generation Chickenhawk: the Unauthorized College Republican Convention Tour

If We Don't Call Them Names, the Terrorists Win  —  After the terrorist near misses in London and Glasgow, British officials did the expected.  They raised their nation's threat-assessment level.  They weighed the balance between civil liberties and new, tougher security measures.

Greatest Living American Ignored  —  Today in Washington I was in the room as the greatest living American received a medal.  George W. Bush, Nancy Pelosi and others were present.  But will you ever hear this event occurred?  To judge from tonight's major network evening newscasts, perhaps not.