Petraeus To Testify Before the Senate on September 11; McCain Launching 'No Surrender Tour'  —  Highlights from the McCain Campaign's Conference Call:  —  Headline one: McCain says he has been told General Petraeus will be testifying before the Senate on September 11.  (!?)

Report: Vick agrees to plea deal, prison possible  —  (CNN) — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has accepted a plea deal that could send him to prison, ending a federal dogfighting prosecution that jeopardizes his pro football career, a Virginia newspaper is reporting.

FEC Complaint filed against Fred Thompson  —  Fred Thompson is breaking the law and it's time somebody did something about it.  So, this morning, I filed an FEC Complaint against him.  For far too long, he has been ignoring the letter and spirit of Federal Election Law for his own political benefit.

Leahy: Cheney Told GOP-Led Congress It Was 'Not Allowed To Issue Subpoenas'  —  Today in a press briefing, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) revealed that the White House had missed its 2:30 PM deadline to turn over documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding legal justifications …

Lieberman Shrugs Off Failed Iraq Predictions, Now Claims 'Road To Victory' Goes Through Syria  —  Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) writes today in the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. "road to victory" in Iraq goes through Damascus, and urges Congress to "send a clear and unambiguous message to the Syrian regime":

Former Sen. Sam Nunn weighs run for White House  —  Sam Nunn left the U.S. Senate more than 10 years ago.  —  Since then, the Georgia Democrat, who made his name nationally as a defense-minded hawk, has watched what's happened to the country, and he's more than a bit ticked — at the …

Bears eat man at beer festival  —  BELGRADE, Serbia (Reuters) — A 23-year old Serb was found dead and half-eaten in the bear cage of Belgrade Zoo at the weekend during the annual beer festival.  —  The man was found naked, with his clothes lying intact inside the cage.

Congressman Charged for Assault At Dulles  —  ABC 7 has learned the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority have charged Representative Robert Filner of California with assault and battery following an incident at Dulles International Airport Sunday night.

CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT TAKES CENTER STAGE IN COVERAGE  —  A Quarterly Report of the PEJ News Coverage Index  —  MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE CAMPAIGN RISES, WAR COVERAGE FALLS, DURING THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2007  —  The 2008 Presidential campaign—with its crowded field and accelerated timetable …

The Terrorism Index  —  Third Semi-annual, Nonpartisan Survey of Foreign Policy Experts from the Center for American Progress and Foreign Policy  — "U.S. Foreign Policy Experts Oppose Bush's Surge," Reuters, Aug. 20, 2007  —  In the third Terrorism Index, more than 100 of America's …

Rove Talks: If Mistakes Were Made, They Weren't His  —  Karl Rove says he feels like Moby Dick.  —  In a television tour of three Sunday morning shows as his departure from the White House nears, Mr. Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, complained that Democratic leaders …

HOW THE NEW REPUBLIC GOT SUCKERED  —  When Pajamas Media heard the authenticity questions surrounding the "Baghdad Diarist" articles by Scott Thomas Beauchamp in The New Republic, we asked our Washington Editor Richard Miniter to look into how the respected opinion magazine could once again be the locus of such a scandal.

Kurds flee homes as Iran shells Iraqi villages  —  Iraqi Kurdish officials expressed deepening concern yesterday at an upsurge in fierce clashes between Kurdish guerrillas and Iranian forces in the remote border area of north-east Iraq, where Tehran has recently deployed thousands of Revolutionary Guards.

Immigration Activist Deported to Mexico  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) - An illegal immigrant who took refuge in a Chicago church for a year to avoid being separated from her U.S.-born son has been deported to Mexico, the church's pastor said.  —  Elvira Arellano became an activist and a national symbol …

Clinton backers see Warner — not Obama — as best V.P. choice  —  Anticipating that Sen. Hillary Clinton will clinch the Democratic presidential nomination, some supporters are beginning to argue against her choosing her principal rival — Sen. Barack Obama — for vice president.

Countdown On NBC  —  Countdown with Keith Olbermann is getting a tryout on NBC.  The NYTimes reports, Countdown will air before NBC's broadcast of this Sunday's pre-season game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers.  Says NBC SVP Phil Griffin, "The world has changed …

BBC DROPS FICTIONAL TERROR ATTACK TO AVOID OFFENDING MUSLIMS  —  The BBC has dropped plans to show a fictional terror attack in an episode of Casualty to avoid offending Muslims.  —  The first show of the hospital drama's new series was to have featured a storyline about an explosion caused by Islamic extremists.

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Former madam is 'big fan of Hillary'  —  Clinton camp has no response  —  Former Hollywood madam and current rural Nevada small businesswoman Heidi Fleiss was turned away from Hillary Clinton's appearance in Pahrump last week, but she doesn't hold a grudge.