Report Cites Grave Concerns on Iraq's Government  —  The administration is planning to make public today parts of a sober new report by American intelligence agencies expressing deep doubts that the government of the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, can overcome sectarian differences.

McConnell: Fewer Than 100 Secret U.S. Wiretaps  —  Law enforcement officials are targeting fewer than 100 people in the United States for secret court-approved wiretaps aimed at disrupting terrorist networks, the top U.S. intelligence official said in an interview published yesterday.

Constitutionally Protected Chats?  —  From the AP: … The AP notes the court decision early this month that the FBI had wrongfully seized Constitutionally protected legislative materials from Rep. William Jefferson's (D-LA) office, which strengthens the House's refusal to turn over the computer.

Rule to Expand Mountaintop Coal Mining  —  The Bush administration is set to issue a regulation on Friday that would enshrine the coal mining practice of mountaintop removal.  The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and streams.

Romney Struggles to Define Abortion Stance  —  Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said this week that as president he would allow individual states to keep abortion legal, two weeks after telling a national television audience that he supports a constitutional amendment to ban the procedure nationwide.

A ferry captain, the FBI and Benjamin Franklin  —  I certainly have plenty of feedback to consider from the ferry photo issue as we go forward.  —  I understand that people have a hard time with the concept that we get to decide what is news and what isn't, and what is fair and what isn't.

What September Won't Settle  —  Come September, America might slip closer toward a Weimar moment.  It would be milder than the original but significantly disagreeable.  —  After the First World War, politics in Germany's new Weimar Republic were poisoned by the belief that the army …

Behind Giuliani's Tough Talk  —  Islamic terrorists are at war with us," Rudy Giuliani told about 300 people at a synagogue in Rockville, Md., one evening in July.  He likes to say it that way—that they are at war with us, not the other way around. "  They want to kill us," he warned a group in New Hampshire the same month. "

White House Declares Office Off-Limits  —  Administrator of Missing E-Mails Not Subject to Open-Records Law, It Says  —  The Bush administration argued in court papers this week that the White House Office of Administration is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act as part of its effort …

VDH Responds  —  The riposte is a little sad, really.  Hanson clearly favored an aggressive strategy that concentrated on shoot-to-kill aggression and opposed any increase in troops back in 2004; Petraeus, in contrast, was a stern critic of past efforts, wanted many more troops …

Let Me Get An Encore, Do You Want More?  —  The big news in this sleepy (and in D.C., sunless) August week is the return of gentleman Ari Fleischer at the helm of an astroturf (i.e., fake grassroots) group called Freedom's Watch.  Its goal: To spend $15 million (they don't have to tell us where they got it …

Bush hit over jobs for illegal workers  —  If President Bush is serious about getting tough on U.S. employers who hire illegal aliens, he can start with his own administration, which employs thousands of unauthorized workers, says the top Republican on the House immigration subcommittee.

Foxman Blinks On Armenian Genocide  —  Under fire, ADL reverses course and now calls Armenian killings a genocide.  —  In a dramatic reversal, the Anti-Defamation League's national director has issued a statement describing the massacres perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians as "tantamount to genocide."

Obama Girl has Hil thrill  —  Sen. Barack Obama's sexiest fan respects the presidential candidate more than ever now that he has knocked her Web video, "I Got a Crush on Obama."  But "Obama Girl"actually may vote for Hillary Clinton.  —  On Monday, Obama said he really wasn't that into Amber Lee Ettinger …

Militias Seizing Control of Iraqi Electricity Grid  —  Armed groups increasingly control the antiquated switching stations that channel electricity around Iraq, the electricity minister said Wednesday.  —  That is dividing the national grid into fiefs that, he said, often refuse …