Giuliani Inspires Threat of a Third-Party Run  —  Alarmed at the possibility that the Republican Party might pick Rudolph W. Giuliani as its presidential nominee despite his support for abortion rights, a coalition of influential Christian conservatives is threatening to back a third-party candidate.

HILLARY'S $30,000 FANS ARE HER 'CULT' FOLLOWING  —  A purported pyramid-scheme operator who was run out of Arkansas when Bill Clinton was governor has reinvented himself as the head of an upstate group accused of being a "cult" - and his devotees have pumped thousands into Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential run.

Roddy Stinson: Passenger sitting behind soldier reports 'a very moving moment'  —  THE GOOD  —  Last Wednesday, while flying from Phoenix to the Alamo City on U.S. Airways Flight 207, a San Antonio man, Gil Anderson, witnessed something memorable.  —  Shortly before takeoff …

Gotbaum kin's plea before dying: I'm not a terrorist!  —  BY SOO YOUN in Phoenix and ETHAN ROUEN and ADAM LISBERG in New York  —  The daughter-in-law of one of New York's top officials screamed, "I'm not a terrorist!" and fought with security officials in the Phoenix airport before being wrestled …

Burma: Thousands dead in the massacre of the monks dumped in the jungle  —  Thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle, a former intelligence officer for Burma's ruling junta has revealed.  —  The most senior official to defect so far …

Qualifications: Setting the Record Straight  —  Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in a new autobiography, labels Anita Hill his "most traitorous adversary," once again denying the sexual harassment claims she made against him at his Supreme Court confirmation hearing, and calling her a mediocre but ambitious lawyer.

Michigan Goes Smoot-Hawley In The Early Morning  —  The economic woes of Michigan appear ready to worsen, thanks to a budget agreement reached this morning as the state government began shutting down.  Michigan residents will see their taxes increase by over a billion dollars …

Hints of Strong Fundraising Emerge  —  Stronger-Running Candidates May Have Dodged Summer Blues  —  New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced last night he raised about $5.2 million over the past three months for his Democratic presidential bid, an amount his campaign said would keep …

High Court won't hear birth control case  —  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday declined to enter a church-state dispute over whether some religious organizations can be forced to pay for workers' birth-control health insurance benefits, a growing trend in the states.

What We Owe the Burmese  —  An upheaval like the pro-democracy uprising taking place in Burma over the past month tends to shake up certainties that had seemed self-evident.  Certainties such as the primacy of justice.  Or the sanctity of the Olympic Games.

Final Bow  —  With mixed emotions I announce: John and I will no longer be producing editorial cartoons.  John will continue posting his work at his blog, John Cox Art, and he and I will continue working together on various projects, but there will be no more regularly scheduled editorial cartoons.

Right-Of-Center Bloggers Select Their Favorite People On The Right (2007 Edition)  —  Right Wing News emailed more than 225 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to send us a list of whom they considered to be their "Favorite People On The Right."  Representatives from the following 50 blogs responded...

Death From All Sides  —  An extensive evidence file assembled by the Iraqi National Police after the controversial Blackwater shooting suggests that the private contractors opened fire unprovoked from the ground and the sky.  —  Since the fatal Sept. 16 Blackwater USA shooting in Baghdad's Nasoor Square …

U.S. Embassy rips Senate plan on Iraq  —  BAGHDAD - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed more than 60 insurgent and militia fighters in intense battles over the weekend, with most of the casualties believed to have been al-Qaida fighters, officials said Sunday.  —  The U.S. Embassy, meanwhile …