Update From Miami  —  Watching Polos Opuestos on Channel 22 here in Miami, and the word is that the rumors of fidel's death are just that.  Host Maria Elvira Salazar interviewed Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, and the mayor emphasized that there have been no movement of law enforcement to handle the rumored situation.

Generals Differ on the Timing of Troop Cuts  —  As the Bush administration mulls options for withdrawing forces in Iraq, fault lines are beginning to emerge in a debate between commanders in the field who favor slow reductions and senior generals at the Pentagon who favor cutting the number of combat troops more deeply.

Robert Fisk: Even I question the 'truth' about 9/11  —  Each time I lecture abroad on the Middle East, there is always someone in the audience - just one - whom I call the "raver".  Apologies here to all the men and women who come to my talks with bright and pertinent questions …

Terror Suspect List Yields Few Arrests  —  The government's terrorist screening database flagged Americans and foreigners as suspected terrorists almost 20,000 times last year.  But only a small fraction of those questioned were arrested or denied entry into the United States …

Bush to Commemorate Katrina Anniversary  —  CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush will return to the Gulf Coast next week, where hard times and resentment linger two years after Hurricane Katrina's massive strike.  —  Bush will fly into New Orleans on Tuesday after giving a speech …

ACLU sues DEA on behalf of truck whose money was seized  —  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A trucker has sued the Drug Enforcement Administration, seeking to get back nearly $24,000 seized by DEA agents earlier this month at a weigh station on U.S. 54 in New Mexico north of El Paso, Texas.

Lawmakers' Iraq views shift at home  —  August is a time ripe for political conversions.  —  Members of Congress are away from Washington during a month-long recess.  They're talking to their constituents, reflecting on their political careers, jetting off on fact-finding trips to Iraq …

China to act on gender imbalance  —  The Chinese government says it is drafting new laws to tackle the growing gender imbalance caused by the widespread abortion of female foetuses.  —  The practice is already banned, but new rules are expected to set out specific punishments for parents and doctors.

The Work Behind Our Iraq Views  —  How can one gather and assess information about Iraq — collected on a trip or from any other source?  Information from a war zone is difficult to attain and interpretation is open to many views.  —  Unfortunately, much of the blogosphere and other media outlets …

Giuliani Boasts of Surplus; Reality Is More Complex  —  Rudolph W. Giuliani has been broadcasting radio advertisements in Iowa and other states far from the city he once led stating that that as mayor of New York, he "turned a $2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion dollar surplus."

Clinton's Democratic Rivals Denounce Terrorism Remark  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton drew outrage from her opponents for the Democratic presidential nomination on Friday after saying that a terrorist attack in the United States would give Republicans an edge in the 2008 race.

Blue America Has Another Jerry McNerney Moment  —  Jerry McNerney's election to Congress was an outstanding success for local grassroots activists and for the national and local netroots.  He was one of the top recipients of donations from Blue America in 2006.

Brzezinski Embraces Obama Over Clinton for President  —  Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) — Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of the most influential foreign-policy experts in the Democratic Party, threw his support behind Barack Obama's presidential candidacy, saying the Illinois senator has a better global grasp than his chief rival, Hillary Clinton.

Number of Iraqis Held by U.S. Is Swelling  —  The number of detainees held by the American-led military coalition in Iraq has swelled by 50 percent under the troop increase ordered by President Bush, with the inmate population growing from 16,000 in February to 24,500 today, according to American military officers in Iraq.