A STATEMENT ON SCOTT THOMAS BEAUCHAMP:  —  We've talked to military personnel directly involved in the events that Scott Thomas Beauchamp described, and they corroborated his account as detailed in our statement.  When we called Army spokesman Major Steven F. Lamb and asked …

TIMESSELECT CONTENT FREED  —  The New York Times is poised to stop charging readers for online access to its Op-Ed columnists and other content, The Post has learned.  —  After much internal debate, Times executives - including publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. - made the decision to end …

Rudy Giuliani: Only I can beat Hillary Clinton  —  Lambasting Democrats for having "embraced defeat" in Iraq, Rudy Giuliani is declaring himself the only Republican who will keep America on the offensive against Islamism and stop Hillary Clinton capturing the White House in 2008.

It's a Female Dog, or Worse.  Or Endearing.  And Illegal?  —  The New York City Council, which drew national headlines when it passed a symbolic citywide ban earlier this year on the use of the so-called n-word, has turned its linguistic (and legislative) lance toward a different slur: bitch.

Propaganda Redux  —  Take it from this old KGB hand: The left is abetting America's enemies with its intemperate attacks on President Bush.  —  During last week's two-day summit, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown thanked President Bush for leading the global war on terror.

Our Chance to Capture the Center  —  With President Bush and the Republican Party on the rocks, many Democrats think the 2008 election will be, to borrow a favorite GOP phrase, a cakewalk.  Some liberals are so confident about Democratic prospects that they contend the centrism that vaulted Democrats …

As British Leave, Basra Deteriorates  —  Violence Rises in Shiite City Once Called a Success Story  —  As British forces pull back from Basra in southern Iraq, Shiite militias there have escalated a violent battle against each other for political supremacy and control over oil resources …

Kernel of Evil  —  Selling weapons to the Saudis is logical.  But is it wise?  —  It's hard to fault the logic of the sale, announced last week, of $20 billion in U.S. arms to Saudi Arabia, with trinkets going to the smaller Gulf states.  The wisdom of the deal is another matter.

Fred Phelps Is Coming  —  The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., plans to stage protests at funerals of victims of the 35W bridge collapse to state that God made the bridge fall because he hates America, and especially Minnesota, because of its tolerance of homosexuality.

How Credit Got So Easy And Why It's Tightening  —  An extraordinary credit boom that created many first-time homeowners and financed a wave of corporate takeovers seems to be waning.  Home buyers with poor credit are having trouble borrowing.  Institutional investors from Milwaukee to Düsseldorf to Sydney are reporting losses.

An Iraqi Interpreter's Story  —  "Please, sir, can you help me?  I must work with Americans, because my psychology is demolished by Saddam Hussein.  Not just me.  All Iraqis.  Psychological demolition."  - Iraqi woman to New Yorker reporter George Packer.  —  "The Hammer," Titan Company Badge # S-10296

Cormac Ignatieff's "The Road"  —  Hello everyone!  Personal message to all the New Yorkers out there: Did you read Michael Ignatieff's essay in the the NY Times Magazine?  If so, contact me ASAP to let me know you're OK.  I put your flyer up at Grand Central Station, but have heard no response.

Misreporting Obama?  —  When Obama's big terrorism speech last week made headlines for its threat of military action in Pakistan, and won plaudits for its meatiness and detail, I wondered whether the main impression America would get from it would be that he's a fresh voice on foreign policy; or that he wants to invade Pakistan.