Sources: Thompson announcement on Sept. 6  —  Fred Thompson's campaign-in-waiting will hold a 4 p.m. conference call today with supporters to brief them on plans for the former Tennessee senator's presidential announcement next week, according to an e-mail obtained by Politico.com.

Chemical Weapons Scare at U.N. Headquarters  —  Brian Ross Reports:  —  United Nations weapons inspectors discovered six to eight vials of a dangerous chemical warfare agent, phosgene, as they were cleaning out offices at a U.N. building in New York, federal authorities tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

Texas governor spares getaway driver  —  HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Gov. Rick Perry accepted a parole board recommendation Thursday to spare condemned inmate Kenneth Foster, the getaway driver in a 1996 murder who had been scheduled for execution within hours.  —  The sentence had drawn protests …

Edwards On Track in Iowa  —  John Edwards is betting that a strong showing in the Iowa caucuses will catapult him into national contention, and so far his strategy in the state is on track.  A new TIME poll of likely Iowa caucus goers, taken a week after Edwards' seven-day …

Porter ties U.S. withdrawal from Iraq to $9 gasoline  —  Lawmaker reports on his trip to country  —  WASHINGTON — Gasoline prices could rise to about $9 per gallon if the United States withdraws troops from Iraq prematurely, Rep. Jon Porter said he was told on a trip to Iraq that ended this week.

Locked, Loaded and Looney  —  As the Army's suicide rate hits record levels in the Iraq war, there's small wonder practically everyone in Congress wants to deal with the parallel emerging crisis of depressed veterans tempted to take their own lives.  Everyone, that is, except Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma.

GOP no-shows prompt cancellation of debate  —  Univisión's Republican presidential debate has been called off after only one contender agreed to participate.  The debate for Democrats is still on for Sept. 9.  —  AIM reprint  —  breinhard@MiamiHerald.com

FOOT TAPPING AND BATHROOM CRUISING....Yesterday one of my readers emailed to say he was annoyed by all the ignorant blog commentary emanating from straight young whippersnappers on the subject of Larry Craig's restroom shenanigans in Minnesota: … Today, non-whippersnapper blogger …

When Fox News Republicans Lie, Democrats Should Tell The Truth  —  Regarding Karen Hanretty's comments in which she invoked the name of Barry Goldwater while she lied about me:  —  I knew Barry Goldwater.  Barry Goldwater was an authentic conservative who believed in political discourse of honesty and civility.

Conservative 'Homophobic Hypocrisy' In Craig Scandal  —  Earlier this month, Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) pleaded guilty to "misdemeanor disorderly conduct" for "lewd" sexual conduct in a men's public restroom.  In July, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) also admitted to the "sin" of a sexual crime …

Barney Frank: Craig Shouldn't Resign  —  (Boston, Massachusetts) Barney Frank (D-Mass) one of only two openly gay members of Congress says that Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig should resist calls for his resignation.  —  "What he did, it's hypocritical, but it's not an abuse of his office …

A Rigged Report on U.S. Voting?  —  After the 2000 Florida election debacle, Congress established a body called the Election Assistance Commission to improve voting and democracy in this country.  Two years ago, the commission approached me about doing a project that would take a preliminary look …

'Post' Homophobia Still Mysteriously Unfunny  —  You know what?  We're getting pretty bored by the New York Post's homophobia.  For a while, we giggled at "Page Six"'s use of archaic adjectives like "swishy" and "limp-wristed" to describe gay subjects.  We tried to find the humor …

Allawi Gets a Baathist Endorsement  —  Iyad Allawi's bid to become Iraq's prime minister again has received an endorsement from an unexpected source: the Baath Party.  A spokesman for the exiled leadership of Saddam Hussein's old party told TIME that Allawi "is the best person at this time to be given the task of ruling Iraq."