Gonzales Denies Any Attempt to Pressure Ashcroft  —  Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales denied today that he tried as White House counsel in March 2004 to influence then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was hospitalized and semi-alert after undergoing gall bladder surgery.

Clinton takes Obama to task over statements  —  TODAY: (Updated 12:25 p.m.) Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton today called rival Barack Obama's statement that he would meet with the leaders of several countries antagonistic to the United States "irresponsible" and "naive."

Collamore out as Thompson manager  —  Tom Collamore, the former Altria lobbyist who had been running Fred Thompson's campaign, has resigned and will be replaced by Randy Enwright.  Enwright is a Florida political hand with ties to former Gov. Jeb Bush.  Also coming on board in a leadership capacity …

In the Wake of the Surge  —  BAGHDAD - 82nd Airborne's Lieutenant William H. Lord from Foxborough, Massachusetts, prepared his company for a dismounted foot patrol in the Graya'at neighborhood of Northern Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Arab district of Adhamiyah.

GOP senators to chide Reid  —  Senate Republicans are preparing to take aim at Majority Leader Harry Reid over the August recess for being "all talk but no action" and helping drag the Democrat-led Congress' approval rating to a historic low, according to a document distributed to caucus members.

Outsourcing the Picket Line  —  Carpenters Union Hires Homeless to Stage Protests  —  The picketers marching in a circle in front of a downtown Washington office building chanting about low wages do not seem fully focused on their message.  —  Many have arrived with large suitcases …

Bush Insists Al Qaeda in Iraq Threatens U.S.  —  President George W. Bush argued forcefully today that an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq is linked tightly to the central Al Qaeda leadership, and that for American forces to leave Iraq without defeating the terror group would be "dangerous for the world and disastrous for America."

Continued: Michele Bachmann: Watching her step  —  The chamber visitors are a friendly crowd, but the reality of a broadened constituency grows clear in a discussion about the proposed Northstar commuter rail line.  During the campaign, Bachmann was cool to the idea, so distant from Stillwater.

Spitzer Aides Cited for Use of Police to Tarnish Bruno  —  Gov. Eliot Spitzer's aides, including one of his closest advisers, improperly used the State Police to gather information about the governor's chief rival, Joseph L. Bruno, the State Senate majority leader, in an effort to plant …

Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah  —  Lebanese Cleric  —  Considered the leading Shi'ite Muslim Intellectual in Lebanon, Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah is a controversial figure known primarily for his support of the armed Shi'ite resistance movement, Hezbollah and for his uncompromising stance against the State of Israel.