Public Confidence in Presidential Hopefuls on Key 2008 Election Issues  —  No candidate has a clear edge on Iraq  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Panel survey finds each of the five best-known 2008 presidential candidates scoring similarly in ratings of public confidence in their ability …

Short of Perjury  —  I find myself in an unaccustomed and unexpected position: defending Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.  —  Gonzales fans, if there are Gonzales fans left, except for the only fan who counts: Don't take any comfort from my assessment.  —  In his Senate testimony last week …

CNBC's Faber: News Corp. to Succeed In Buying Dow Jones  —  Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. will succeed in its months-long effort to acquire Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, CNBC's David Faber reported.  —  A definitive agreement is expected as early as tonight, Faber said, citing people familiar with the situation.

New Polls: IA, NH, SC  —  ARG is out with a new round of '08 polls in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.  All surveys were conducted July 26-30.  Headlines on the Democratic side: Obama has moved into a tie with Clinton in New Hampshire and surged ahead of her in South Carolina, while Richardson is up and Edwards is down in Iowa.

Cheney Says He Is A 'Unique Creature,' Refuses To Say He Is Part Of Executive Branch  —  In June, House investigators revealed that Vice President Dick Cheney had exempted his office from an executive order order designed to safeguard classified national security information by claiming …

British army ends Ulster operation  —  Matthew Weaver and agencies  —  The British army's longest continuous military operation comes to an end at midnight tonight when responsibility for security in Northern Ireland passes to the police.  —  Operation Banner lasted 38 years …

BREAKING... Home Depot dumps O'Reilly: "We will not... advertise on the Bill O'Reilly show"  —  Home Depot seems to have had a change of heart.  They're now unequivocally telling their customers that they will not advertise on Bill O'Reilly's show.  Oddly, however, they're now also claiming …

Warrant served at Ted Stevens' Girdwood home  —  FBI, IRS examine residence; remodeling job under scrutiny  —  Federal law enforcement agents raided U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' Alaska home in Girdwood on Monday, hauling off undisclosed items from inside and taking extensive pictures and video.

New York Times Pulitzer Prize winner John Burns on Iraq, Iran and how the surge is working.  —  The Hugh Hewitt Show  —  HH: Pleased to welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show John Burns of the New York Times.  Mr. Burns, welcome, it's been about six months since we spoke, and I gather you're in Baghdad today?

Hillary on needle exchange: "As much spine as we possibly can"  —  There are few differences between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on details of domestic policy, but previously unreported exchanges at recent New York meetings revealed one.  Obama favors federal funding …

The Whys of Mating: 237 Reasons and Counting  —  Scholars in antiquity began counting the ways that humans have sex, but they weren't so diligent in cataloging the reasons humans wanted to get into all those positions.  Darwin and his successors offered a few explanations of mating strategies …

Thompson on Horseback  —  It's a shame that Fred Thompson is too young to have played Matt Dillon, the no-nonsense marshal of Dodge City in the long-running radio and television series "Gunsmoke."  That role on the radio went to William Conrad (later TV's "Cannon") and on television to James Arness.

Brown Disappoints Critics of Iraq War  —  Britain's new prime minister, Gordon Brown, has disappointed American and British critics of the war in Iraq by declaring that he believes the West is involved in a "generation-long battle" against radical Islamic terrorism, that he believes …

Bread and a Circus, Part I of II  —  [Note: Before we begin, a huge congratulations to Iraq for winning the Asian Cup in soccer.  As an American, I felt a sense of jubilation when Iraq took the title.  I have temporarily left Iraq, for my only "break" this year, and am in Singapore.

Hearing with DNI chief canceled amid FISA furor  —  House Democrats canceled Tuesday's planned hearing with Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, prompting a rebuke from Republicans who want Congress to proceed quickly on updating a key surveillance law.

Remember Aliyah Bet  —  I had a phone call the other day from my friend Murray Greenfield, an ex-American who has been living in Israel for so long that he makes me feel — my wife and I settled here in 1970 — like a recent immigrant.  In fact, Mr. Greenfield first arrived in Israel before it was Israel …