EXCLUSIVE: Powell Praises Obama, Fears Afghanistan Growing ‘More Difficult’ Than Iraq  —  General Says Next President Will Face Long Struggle, Troop Strain in Two-Front Battle  —  Retired Gen. Colin Powell insists he hasn't yet decided who he'll back in the 2008 presidential election.

McCain not yet golden in California  —  Here are four things you need to know about John McCain and California:  —  1. If McCain wins California in November, he almost certainly will become the next president of the United States.  —  The Democratic nominee would find it extremely difficult …

David Brock, Dems plan $40M hit on McCain  —  Wealthy Democrats are preparing a four-month, $40 million media campaign centered on attacks on Senator John McCain.  And it will be led by David Brock, the former investigative reporter who first gained fame in the 1990s as a right-wing, anti-Clinton journalist.

TIME Poll: Clinton 6 Points Up in Pennsylvania  —  Backed by more than half of all white female Democrats, Hillary Clinton holds a six point lead over Barack Obama in Pennsylvania, a new statewide poll by TIME reveals.

Bush to Cut Army Tours to 12 Months  —  President Supports Suspending Pullout Of Forces in Iraq  —  President Bush plans to announce today that he will cut Army combat tours in Iraq from 15 months to 12 months, returning rotations to where they were before last year's troop buildup in an effort …

CBS News, Katie Couric Are Likely to Part Ways  —  Barring a Change, Departure Could Follow the Election;  —  A Successor to Larry King?  —  After two years of record-low ratings, both CBS News executives and people close to Katie Couric say that the “CBS Evening News” …

Elton John: ‘To hell with them’  —  There's a real crowd at Radio City, complete with scalpers, and lines around the block for Elton John and the Clintons.  —  Toward the back of one line: Frank Luntz, Lanny Davis, and Doug Schoen.  ("I used to be in business with Mark Penn," Schoen joked.)

Metro charter school accused of teaching Islam  —  A Star Tribune newspaper column has prompted a state investigation into a charter school.  A substitute teacher said a school in Inver Grove Heights is blurring the line of separation of church and state.  —  Being a charter school Tarek …

Obama Talks All Things LGBT with The Advocate  —  In an exclusive Chicago sit-down with The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld, Democratic front-runner Barack Obama discusses “don't ask, don't tell,” Rev. Wright, and what he would do for LGBT Americans if he becomes president.

Sophie Masloff to endorse Hillary Clinton  —  Former Pittsburgh Mayor Sophie Masloff will endorse Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton when the New York senator appears this evening for the Allegheny County Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at Heinz Field.  —  “It's been very difficult …

2 Camps Trying to Influence McCain on Foreign Policy  —  WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain has long made his decades of experience in foreign policy and national security the centerpiece of his political identity, and suggests he would bring to the White House a fully formed view of the world.

Hey, why bother with a trial?  —  As revealed here a few weeks ago, the investigative unit of the Ontario “Human Rights” Commission recommended to the Commissioners that they not proceed against Maclean's for having the temerity to publish an excerpt from my book.

“My Answer Is No”  —  A conversation with President Bush.  —  I SPENT ABOUT 40 minutes with President Bush in the Oval Office late yesterday afternoon, in a meeting whose purpose was to allow the president to preview the Iraq speech he's giving today.  —  We ended up spending more than half the time on other matters.

Pardon Me, but Your Door Is Terribly Offensive  —  Getting one's own office can be a rite of passage right up there with defending a dissertation or receiving tenure — and many professors' lairs are reflections of their own attitudes and beliefs.  Usually, it takes just a quick glance at the door …