White House Backs Gonzales on Testimony  —  The White House offered a vigorous defense of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today, insisting that he had not given misleading testimony to Congress, but that national security factors prevented further clarification for now.

Novak Tome Could Have Been 'Bible Length'  —  Columnist Robert Novak said Thursday morning that the draft manuscript of his recently released autobiography, "Bob Novak and the Deathly Hallows" ... er, sorry, "The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington" (can't get Harry Potter out of our heads), ran to about 1,400 pages.

Army Private Discloses He Is New Republic's Baghdad Diarist  —  The New Republic's anonymous "Baghdad Diarist" identified himself yesterday as Scott Thomas Beauchamp, an Army private in Iraq, and disputed as "maddening" accusations that he had invented his accounts of cruelty by American soldiers.

Hazleton, Pa.  —  A federal judge has ruled in favor of the ACLU against Hazleton, Pa., saying that the city's immigration-control ordinances are "unconstitutional," whatever that's supposed to mean this week.  My research director was called as a witness by attorneys for the city …

Strike Two  —  For Barack Obama, it was strike two.  And this one was a right-down-the-middle question from a YouTuber in Monday night's South Carolina debate: "Would you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else …

To Read the Orange Signs  —  AN OPEN MEMO  —  FROM: Thers, On Behalf of All Us liberal Bloggers Who Live on Snark  —  Dear Mr. Gerson:  —  In reference to your latest post, especially lines like the following: … It is you, sir, yourself, who make it too easy.  —  Love (and a Moste Chaste Kiss),

Public Divided as to Whether New President Should Meet with Heads of Iran, Syria, North Korea  —  Forty-two percent (42%) of Americans say that the next President should meet with the heads of nations such as Iran, Syria, and North Korea without setting any preconditions.

Another Thompson resignation  —  Another aide to Fred Thompson's campaign-in-waiting resigned last night, two sources close to the campaign confirm.  Tom Frechette had been effectively serving as campaign manager Tom Collamore's deputy.  Collamore was removed from his post Tuesday and given a "senior adviser" role.

Lawyers sap our will to combat terrorism  —  We lack the toughness of our European neighbours  —  Many jihadis seek to create a global caliphate, ruled by Sharia.  At best, Christians, Hindus, and Jews would live in a state of submission tantamount to second-class citizenship.

US ordered to pay $101.7m in false murder convictions  —  FBI withheld evidence in '65 gangland slaying  —  A federal judge held the FBI "responsible for the framing of four innocent men" in a 1965 gangland murder in a landmark ruling yesterday and ordered the government to pay …

Freed man still in limbo … Mark O'Hara clutches his only belongings, his legal papers, as he uses a borrowed cell phone Wednesday in an attempt to get a ride home to Dunedin from the Orient Road Jail in Tampa.  —  Times]  —  TAMPA - Mark O'Hara left jail without handcuffs Wednesday …

Bob Dole Says Thompson Will Benefit From McCain's Lost `Buzz'  —  Bob Dole says his preferred presidential candidate, Arizona Senator John McCain, is fading and that his support is likely to be ``picked up'' by Fred Thompson, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination in September.

White House Conference Call On Executive Privilege  —  The White House hosted a blogger conference call to discuss the issues surrounding the Bush administration's use of executive privilege in the probe of the firings of eight federal prosecutors.  The White House arranged the call based …

Edwards: "They want to shut me up"  —  MyDD flags an intense minute and a half from John Edwards in Creston, Iowa, yesterday in which he heatedly tells an audience that the attention to trivia (I assume the reference here is to his haircuts) is "not an accident" and that "they want to shut me up" …

Today's Must Read  —  Was Pat Tillman murdered?  —  Stunning as it is to contemplate, the Associated Press obtained Pentagon documents through the Freedom of Information Act showing that investigators looked into whether the athlete-turned-soldier might have been deliberately killed in 2004 …