White House to Offer Iraq Plan of Gradual Cuts  —  The White House plans to use a report next month assessing progress in Iraq to outline a plan for gradual troop reductions beginning next year that would fall far short of the drawdown demanded by Congressional opponents of the war, according to administration and military officials.

A Plan for Iraq  —  Next month, Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will report to Congress on the situation in my country.  I expect that the testimony of these two good men will be qualified and nuanced, as politics requires.

White House spokesman quitting  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — White House press secretary Tony Snow will step down from his position as early as next month, sources inside and outside the Bush administration told CNN on Friday.  —  When contacted by CNN about his possible departure, Snow said, "I'm not making any announcement."

Edwards Calls Coulter 'She-Devil'  —  ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Former Sen. John Edwards on Friday fired the latest round in his ongoing verbal feud with Ann Coulter, calling her a "she-devil" at a public event before quickly adding that he shouldn't engage in name-calling.

Half a World Away: Soldiers in Iraq Don't Hear Deliberations Back Home (and Often Don't Care)  —  TIKRIT, Iraq — It never even hits the radar screen.  For the troops on the front lines and the colonels in the rear—and just about everyone in between—the big news in Iraq every day is that they're still alive and healthy.

RYE BARCOTT: A GREAT AMERICAN  —  My daughter Eliana returned from a visit to Africa during which she made the acquaintance of Rye Barcott (above with his colleague Matt Bugher) in Nairobi, Kenya.  For reasons that will become obvious, Rye made a great impression on Eliana.

Giuliani-McCain: That's the Ticket?  —  McCain Tells ABC News He's 'Flattered' by Rival Giuliani  —  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani are rivals for the 2008 Republican nomination, but you wouldn't know it by asking them.  —  In an interview …

TV airing for Islam's story of Christ  —  There was no manger, Christ is not the Messiah, and the crucifixion never happened.  A forthcoming ITV documentary will portray Jesus as Muslims see him.  —  With the Koran as a main source and drawing on interviews with scholars and historians …

Delusions of Honesty  —  Tony Blair's domestic legacy: corruption and the erosion of liberty  —  When Tony Blair announced his resignation after ten years as prime minister of the United Kingdom, his voice choked with emotion and he nearly shed a tear.  He asked his audience to believe …

American Dream on a Spike  —  Alan Merrifield doesn't believe in pesticides.  He thinks they're dangerous, ineffective and bad for the environment.  In any case, he doesn't deal with bugs.  He helps people keep common pests like raccoons and birds away from their homes, using only traps, screens and spikes.

DAMNED IF YOU DO...  Is Bill Moyers the most contemptible man in American public life?  He gets my vote.  He has an obsessive hatred of Christian conservatives, as we pointed out here and elsewhere.  (Religious liberals, of course, are another matter altogether, because they agree with Moyers.)

Barack Obama gets name-dropped in hip-hop  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Vibe magazine has dubbed him "B-Rock."  He's getting shout-outs in some of the most popular hip-hop singles of the summer.  He's even had a high-profile meeting with Ludacris.  —  Barack Obama might not be leading …

Wal-Mart CEO: Customers out of cash; LA faces run on banks  —  Earlier this week, consumer juggernauts Home Depot and Wal-Mart reported softer than expected earnings.  —  Penned the New York Times, "the sober forecasts reverberated across Wall Street, sending the Dow Jones industrial average …

Jenna and Henry: Now They're Really, Really Official  —  Back in February 2005, Laura Bush was asked about the guy her daughter Jenna was seeing.  "This is not a serious boyfriend — I hate to have to be the one to say it on television," said the first lady.  "But he's a very nice young man."

It Shouldn't Have Taken the Deaths of Three Miners to Get the Media to Focus on Mine Safety  —  So last night, suddenly, after the tragic second collapse at the Utah mine, there was a dramatic shift in the TV coverage of the story.  All at once, faux folksy mining boss Bob Murray …