A Statement on Scott Thomas Beauchamp  —  Scott Thomas Beauchamp is a U.S. Army private serving in Iraq.  He came to THE NEW REPUBLIC's attention through Elspeth Reeve, a TNR reporter-researcher, whom he later married.  Over the course of the war, we have tried to provide our readers with a sense of Iraq as it is seen by the troops.

Obama says use of nuclear weapons to fight al-Qaida 'not on the table,'  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Thursday he would not use nuclear weapons «in any circumstance.  —  «I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons …

Public anger will follow our sorrow  —  The cloud of dust above the Mississippi that rose after the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed Wednesday evening has dissipated.  But there are other dark clouds still hanging over Minneapolis and Minnesota.  —  The cloud of dust above the Mississippi …

Reid: Bridge collapse is 'wake-up call'  —  It took less than a day for the disastrous bridge collapse in Minneapolis to turn into a political uproar on Capitol Hill.  —  As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) opened the Thursday session of the Senate, he warned that the bridge disaster was a …

Glasgow terror suspect dies from burns  —  LONDON - A man critically burned after allegedly crashing an explosive-laden Jeep into Glasgow Airport died of his injuries Thursday, Strathclyde Police said.  —  Kafeel Ahmed, 27, had been in the hospital for a month with burns from the alleged attack on June 30 …

Chris Dodd Smacks Down O'Reilly about Daily Kos: The VIDEO  —  Continuing on Nicole's post, I've got the video of Dodd doing a great job of sticking up for Daily Kos in an excellent way.  He told the truth.  And when propagandists like BillO are confronted with the truth—heads explode.

Sean Penn praised by Venezuela's Chavez  —  CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has praised Sean Penn for his critical stance against the war in Iraq, saying the two chatted by phone and soon plan to meet in person.  —  Chavez said Penn traveled to Venezuela this week wanting …

Migrant law blocks benefits  —  Prop.  300 denying college aid, child care  —  Nearly 5,000 people in Arizona have been denied in-state college tuition, financial aid and adult education classes this year under a new state law banning undocumented immigrants from receiving those state-funded services.

The Vast Left-Wing Establishment  —  Today more than a thousand Kossacks — adherents of the left-wing website DailyKos — are gathering for their annual convention in Chicago.  It's the second YearlyKos, in circumstances far different from the first, held in June 2006 in Las Vegas.

Out of the Theater, Into the Courtroom  —  Jhannet Sejas and her boyfriend were celebrating her 19th birthday by taking in a matinee showing of the hit movie "Transformers" at the theater at Ballston Common mall.  —  Sejas was enjoying the movie so much that she decided to film a short clip …

'Egyptians killed 4 Sudanese on border'  —  Egyptian soldiers killed four Sudanese refugees near the Egypt-Israel border overnight Wednesday in full view of IDF troops, a shaken-sounding IDF soldier said in an interview with Channel 10, Thursday evening.  —  According to the soldier …