Verizon Says It Turned Over Data Without Court Orders  —  Firm's Letter to Lawmakers Details Government Requests  —  Verizon Communications, the nation's second-largest telecom company, told congressional investigators that it has provided customers' telephone records to federal authorities …

The Real Iraq We Knew  —  Today marks five years since the authorization of military force in Iraq, setting Operation Iraqi Freedom in motion.  Five years on, the Iraq war is as undermanned and under-resourced as it was from the start.  And, five years on, Iraq is in shambles.

Retirement season hits GOP hard  —  PACKING UP: Rep. Ray LaHood, shown in 2005, is to retire next year.  "I don't like being in the minority," he said.  "It's not that much fun, and the prospects for the future don't look that good."  —  In 2008, Republicans look certain to be defending …

Poll: Mixed feelings on kids' health insurance  —  WASHINGTON — A majority of Americans trust Democrats to handle the issue of children's health insurance more than President Bush, but they agree with the president that government aid should be targeted to low-income families, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows.

Randi Rhodes is the Victim of a Violent Attack  —  Randi Rhodes was mugged on Sunday night on 39th Street and Park Ave, nearby her Manhattan apartment, while she was walking her dog Simon.  —  According to Air America Radio late night host Jon Elliott, Rhodes was beaten up pretty badly …

Stiiiiill going  —  I've been writing newspaper columns for 15 years, writing books since 2002, and blogging since 2004.  I've lost track of how many times the nutroots have gleefully declared my demise.  —  Oh, how they wish, wish, wish it were so!  —  The latest moonbat tempest …

GOP targeting Clinton on phone-call snooping  —  Republicans plan to seize on an allegation from the 1992 presidential campaign to tarnish Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) on the red-hot issue of government surveillance.  —  Government surveillance will be at the forefront of the political debate …

Politico Playbook: $38,777 for FedEx  —  Good Tuesday morning.  Senator McCain, who yesterday reported -$94,447 cash on hand for the primary, is on a media blitz that will include a call to Tavis Smiley's radio show and a couple of cable interviews.  —  Gov. Romney has a new TV ad about killing the death tax.

Sabotage in Wartime  —  With all the problems facing this country, both in Iraq and at home, why is Congress spending time trying to pass a resolution condemning the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire nearly a century ago?  —  Make no mistake about it, that massacre of hundreds of thousands …

Frost Parents Talk About The Right's Jihad Against Their Son On Countdown  —  In their first television interview since Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh and others on the right decided to crucify their 12 year old son and swiftboat their family, the parents of Graeme Frost sat down and talked with Keith Olbermann tonight on Countdown.

Democratic Candidates Keep Outraising Republicans  —  The leading Democratic presidential candidates raised twice as much money as their Republican counterparts this summer, according to campaign finance reports filed yesterday, and two leading of the leading Republicans spent more than they raised.

Is this Pope John Paul II waving from beyond the grave?  Vatican TV director says yes  —  This fiery figure is being hailed as Pope John Paul II making an appearance beyond the grave.  —  The image, said by believers to show the Holy Father with his right hand raised in blessing …

A Still, Small Voice  —  A few weeks ago, I interviewed Deborah Pryce, the Republican congresswoman, in her Washington office.  There was a doll propped up against a windowsill, and I wanted to ask her if it had belonged to her daughter, who died of cancer at age 9 in 1999.

Launched!  Fox Biz Network Goes Live (With Bloopers)  —  Will it change business television as we know it?  Will it hammer CNBC into the ground?  Will it make synergistic use of the Wall Street Journal and the pretty smiles of young, nubile anchorwomen around the clock?

The making of the Muslim left  —  Muslim leftism is the only way to ensure that Islam's individualist revolution doesn't take an even darker turn than it already has.  —  I went to a government school in the American south where I had constant interaction with religious supremacists.

Clinton and Obama in virtual money tie  —  The third quarter fundraising race between Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) and Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) ended in a photo finish just before midnight Monday.  —  When the official reports went public on the Federal Election Commission website …