THEY WANT TO FIRE ALBERTO GONZALES AND GIVE HIM NEW EAVESDROPPING POWERS?  —  Happy six-month anniversary, U.S. attorney scandal!  (And what do you get for the scandal that has everything?)  —  The half-birthday of the purge scandal's explosion onto the front pages last February brings …

The Democratic Candidates Forum  —  The following is the transcript of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. candidates forum, as provided by Federal News Service.  —  PARTICIPANTS:  —  MODERATOR: KEITH OLBERMANN: These formalities out of the way, the lucky recipient of our first question has been determined by lottery.

Romney speaks up for sons' decisions  —  BETTENDORF, Iowa - Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons' decision not to enlist in the military, saying they're showing their support for the country by "helping me get elected."

Bonds Makes History With 756th Home Run  —  SAN FRANCISCO: Barry Bonds hit No. 756 to the deepest part of the ballpark Tuesday night, and hammered home the point: Like him or not, legitimate or not, he is baseball's new home run king.  —  Bonds broke Hank Aaron's storied record in the fifth inning …

Let Wisconsin Experiment with Socialized Medicine  —  "On, Wisconsin ... run the ball clear down the field!"  —  It's time to amend the Wisconsin football song so we can cheer on the Badger State's politicians as they move toward health-care socialism.  —  The Wall Street Journal editorial …

Prosecutor: Islamic students had pipe bombs  —  Tampa, Florida - When 24-year-old Ahmed Mohamed and 21-year-old Yousef Megahed appeared in court, there was no question in the prosecutor's mind what this was all about.  She says Mohamed was in possession of pipe bombs and materials that could have been made to make more bombs.

INSTAPUNDIT IS SIX YEARS OLD TODAY: Here's what it looked like that first week.

Facts?  In the Lede?  Shocking!  —  Via Brian Beutler, the AFP tries a revolutionary experiment in writing their story in such a way as to make readers better informed about the issue at hand rather than more familiar with the president's propaganda.  Here's the lede: … Oh, my!

General Blames Clerical Errors In the Case of Missing Arms  —  Bookkeeping deficiencies allowed thousands of weapons issued to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005 to then go missing, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said yesterday.  —  "Some percentage" …

Disaster looms as 'Saddam dam' struggles to hold back the Tigris  —  As world attention focuses on the daily slaughter in Iraq, a devastating disaster is impending in the north of the country, where the wall of a dam holding back the Tigris river north of Mosul city is in danger of imminent collapse.

Clark County Republican leader elected to national post  —  Clark County's Republican Party chairman has been elected head of the Young Republican National Federation.  —  Glenn Murphy Jr., a 33-year-old from Utica, was elected to the chairman's post July 7 in Hollywood, Fla. …

Terrorists teaming with drug cartels  —  Islamic extremists embedded in the United States — posing as Hispanic nationals — are partnering with violent Mexican drug gangs to finance terror networks in the Middle East, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration report.

Major Health Scare After Monkey Sneaks Onto Plane  —  Male Passenger Taken Into Custody For Questioning After Buying Monkey In Peru, Keeping It In The Open In Flight Cabin  —  (CBS) NEW YORK CBS 2 HD has learned a monkey was apparently sneaked into the United States with a passenger from Peru …