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.

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.

[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.

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 …

Thompson Runs to The Right  —  Fred D. Thompson took his bid for the White House to the campaign trail Thursday, vowing to compete aggressively for the support of Iowans and pitching steady, experienced and conservative leadership.  —  "I still have the same common-sense conservative beliefs …

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."

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.

The Massacre of Innocence  —  A stunning new book shows how elite culture made the Duke rape hoax possible.  —  Privileged, rowdy white jocks at an elite, Southern college, a poor, young black stripper, and an alleged rape: It was a juicy, made-for-the-media story of race, class and sex …

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.