U.S. Armor Forces Join Offensive In Baghdad Against Sadr Militia  —  Americans Appear To Take the Lead As Iraqi Units Wait  —  U.S. forces in armored vehicles battled Mahdi Army fighters Thursday in Sadr City, the vast Shiite stronghold in eastern Baghdad, as an offensive to quell party-backed militias entered its third day.

Clinton tells Democrats: Don't vote for McCain  —  FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) - Hillary Clinton pleaded for partisan unity on Thursday, urging Democrats not to abandon their party to vote for John McCain if their preferred candidate fails to secure the nomination.

Obama would have left if Wright stayed  —  WASHINGTON - White House hopeful Barack Obama suggests he would have left his Chicago church had his longtime pastor, whose fiery anti-American comments about U.S. foreign policy and race relations threatened Obama's campaign, not stepped down.

Transcript: Sen. Christopher Dodd On The Fight For The Democratic Nomination  —  Q: I want to welcome Senator Chris Dodd.  He is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.  He was a presidential candidate this year — very well liked by many — and was in the '90s the general chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Loans and Leadership  —  When George W. Bush first ran for the White House, political reporters assured us that he came across as a reasonable, moderate guy.  —  Yet those of us who looked at his policy proposals — big tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization — had a very different impression.

Exclusive Photos Show Al-Hanooti's Political Clout  —  Before he was alleged to have become a spy for Saddam Hussein's regime, Muthanna Al-Hanooti's charity work and political activism provided him with access to the highest echelons of government.  —  Newsletters collected by the Investigative Project …

Rev Jeremiah Wright lands Barack Obama in trouble again  —  Barack Obama faced fresh controversy yesterday over the anti-Israel views propagated by his former pastor even as he was being welcomed to New York by Michael Bloomberg, the city's Jewish Mayor.  —  The disclosure of articles published …

Bob Casey to endorse Obama, join bus tour  —  Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president today in Pittsburgh, sending a message both to the state's primary voters and to undecided superdelegates who might decide the close race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

MoveOn responds to Pelosi letter  —  MoveOn responds to the letter Clinton donors sent yesterday to Nancy Pelosi by sending out a letter of their own: … Full letter after the jump.  —  Dear MoveOn member,  —  This is pretty outrageous: a group of Clinton-supporting big Democratic donors …

Siegelman to be released from prison, Scrushy must stay in  —  MONTGOMERY — A federal appellate court today ordered former Gov. Don Siegelman released from prison while he appeals his 2006 conviction, but denied co-defendant Richard Scrushy's request to be released.

Faculty Are Liberal — Who Cares?  —  One of the key arguments made by David Horowitz and his supporters in recent years is that a left-wing orientation among faculty members results in a lack of curricular balance, which in turn leads to students being indoctrinated rather than educated.

The Hillary Deathwatch  —  GAUGING THE ODDS THAT CLINTON WILL WIN THE NOMINATION.  —  Hillary Clinton is as good as dead.  This became the consensus over the past week, when the media awoke en masse to the dual reality that 1) Clinton can't close the pledged-delegate gap and 2) Obama has her beat in the popular vote.

Clinton Details Premium Cap in Health Plan  —  Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said in an interview on Wednesday that if elected president she would push for a universal health care plan that would limit what Americans pay for health insurance to no more than 10 percent of their income, a significant reduction for some families.

Bill Clinton: Caucuses ‘Killing Us’  —  ABC News' Teddy Davis, Sarah Amos, and Talal Al-Khatib Report: While speaking by phone Thursday to his wife's Texas supporters, former President Bill Clinton downplayed the importance of caucuses and argued that his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. …

Pentagon: Inventory ordered of all U.S. nukes  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates has formally ordered the Air Force, Navy and Defense Logistics Agency to conduct an inventory of all U.S. nuclear weapons and nuclear weapon-related materials to make sure all items are accounted for …