Groups: Bin Laden plans video on 9/11  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden will release a new video in the coming days ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in what would be the first new images of the terror mastermind in nearly three years, al-Qaida's media arm announced Thursday.

Fugitive fundraiser captured in Colorado tonight  —  (09-06) 20:52 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — Fugitive political fundraiser Norman Hsu, who skipped out on San Mateo County authorities this week rather than face sentencing in a fraud scheme, was apprehended tonight by federal and local lawmen in Grand Junction, Colo.

Judge strikes down part of Patriot Act  —  NEW YORK - A federal judge struck down a key part of the USA Patriot Act on Thursday in a ruling that defended the need for judicial oversight of laws and bashed Congress for passing a law that makes possible "far-reaching invasions of liberty."

Petraeus, Seeing Gains in Iraq as Fragile, Is Wary of Cuts  —  Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, has told President Bush that he wants to maintain heightened troop levels in Iraq well into next year to reduce the risk of military setbacks, but could accept the pullback …

Senior Thompson aide no fan of Iowa's ethanol  —  DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) - Former Sen. Fred Thompson chose Iowa Thursday to kick-off his bid for the White House, but at least one of his top aides has recently expressed frustration with the Hawkeye State's influence in the presidential nominating process.

Zogby poll: 42% of Democrats think Bush either caused 9/11 or let it happen  —  I guess we should be grateful it's not a clear majority, eh?  You can thank the turds at 9/11 Truth for commissioning the poll; SLC spotted it earlier and has since been digesting the numbers.

Hardline takeover of British mosques  —  Almost half of Britain's mosques are under the control of a hardline Islamic sect whose leading preacher loathes Western values and has called on Muslims to "shed blood" for Allah, an investigation by The Times has found.

To all iPhone customers:  —  I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale.  After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.

BURIED LEDE ALERT....Fred Kaplan has a good piece in Slate today about the upcoming Petraeus report and what Congress needs to ask about it.  But I was more taken by an astonishing statement at the end of the piece from Stephen Biddle, a member of Petraeus's advisory panel.

[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: Time to Take a Stand  —  Gen. David Petraeus has a history of making overoptimistic assessments of progress in Iraq that happen to be convenient for his political masters.

Clinton and Giuliani Seen as Not Highly Religious; Romney's Religion Raises Concerns  —  Religion in Campaign '08  —  Summary of Findings  —  So far religion is not proving to be a clear-cut positive in the 2008 presidential campaign.  The candidates viewed by voters as the least religious among …