Gallup Daily: Obama, Clinton Equally Matched vs. McCain  —  Democratic race: Obama 48%, Clinton 46%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Although the November presidential election is still eight months away, the results of Gallup Poll Daily tracking shows that if that election were held today …

Obama's 2006 Earmarks  —  Update: The AP says Obama has not responded to repeated requests to release his earmark legislation for six of his eightyears in the Illinois Senate.  Yet, he's criticizing Hillary on this score: … Sen. Barack Obama released his list of 2006 legislation with earmarks today.

U.S. Is Examining Spitzer's Funds  —  ALBANY — Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Gov. Eliot Spitzer used campaign funds in connection with his meetings with prostitutes, including payments for hotels or ground transportation, three people with knowledge of the investigation said.

Petraeus: Iraqi Leaders Not Making ‘Sufficient Progress’  —  Iraqi leaders have failed to take advantage of a reduction in violence to make adequate progress toward resolving their political differences, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Thursday.

Ozone Rules Weakened at Bush's Behest  —  The Environmental Protection Agency weakened one part of its new limits on smog-forming ozone after an unusual last-minute intervention by President Bush, according to documents released by the EPA.  —  EPA officials initially tried to set …

Report Shows No Link Between Saddam and al Qaeda  —  ABC News has requested and obtained a copy of the Pentagon study which shows Saddam Hussein had no links to Al Qaeda.  —  (READ THE FULL REPORT HERE.)  —  It's government report the White House didn't want you to read …

Betting the Bank  —  Four years ago, an academic economist named Ben Bernanke co-authored a technical paper that could have been titled “Things the Federal Reserve Might Try if It's Desperate” — although that may not have been obvious from its actual title, “Monetary Policy Alternatives at the Zero Bound: An Empirical Investigation.”

A Free-Spirited Wanderer Who Set Obama's Path  —  In the capsule version of the Barack Obama story, his mother is simply the white woman from Kansas.  The phrase comes coupled alliteratively to its counterpart, the black father from Kenya.  On the campaign trail, he has called her his “single mom.”

Clinton role in health program disputed  —  Hillary Clinton headed to the Senate floor yesterday as all three major candidates returned to the chamber for key budget votes.  A10.  (Susan Walsh/Associated Press)  —  WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton, who has frequently described herself …

NRCC Says Ex-Treasurer Diverted Up to $1 Million  —  The former treasurer for the National Republican Congressional Committee diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars — and possibly as much as $1 million — of the organization's funds into his personal accounts, GOP officials said yesterday …

What's sauce for the goose . . .  I've had a few people email me to ask “if prostitution is so great, how come you're not a prostitute?”  Huh?  —  Look, first of all, there are lots of jobs that I would never want to do.  I like to shoot a little hoops now and again, but I would never …

Iraq: teachers told to rewrite history  —  MoD accused of sending propaganda to schools  —  Britain's biggest teachers' union has accused the Ministry of Defence of breaking the law over a lesson plan drawn up to teach pupils about the Iraq war.  The National Union of Teachers claims …

Hoyer agrees to closed FISA session  —  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has agreed to a GOP request for a secret House session Thursday to discuss the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA).  —  House Republicans had been seeking the closed session to delay a vote …

Clinton Scenario Meets Liberal Guilt  —  Any realistic scenario in which Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton wins the Democratic presidential nomination assumes that the party bosses will have both the will and the power to stop Sen. Barack Obama's nomination.  —  But there is one good reason …

Not Exactly A Yes Or No (Updated, With Answer)  —  Gov.-in-waiting David Paterson just wrapped up a news conference in the governor's Red Room (more on that shortly), but before he finished, the question that seems to hang over him this week finally got asked: Has he ever patronized a prostitute?

FBI Found to Misuse Security Letters  —  The FBI has increasingly used administrative orders to obtain the personal records of U.S. citizens rather than foreigners implicated in terrorism or counterintelligence investigations, and at least once it relied on such orders to obtain records …

Big Story: John Gibson's Show Yanked At FOXNews  —  The New York Times: … Let's walk down the memory lane of shame, shall we?  Gibby insulted actor Heath Ledger shortly after his death, accused outed CIA operative, Valerie Plame of being part of an anti-Bush cabal within the CIA …

Most Economists in Survey Say Recession Is Here  —  Poll Shows Sharp Drop In First-Half Forecasts; Retail Sales Decline  —  Economists in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey are increasingly certain the U.S. has slid into recession, a view reinforced by new data showing a sharp drop in retail sales last month.