Clinton losing traction over Obama in Pennsylvania, Indiana  —  Her formerly double-digit lead is now just a five-point margin in Pennsylvania, survey finds.  The reduced margin makes a win for her there less significant.  She trails Obama among Hoosiers.  —  WASHINGTON — With three …

Iraqi Unit Flees Post, Despite American's Plea  —  BAGHDAD — A company of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions on Tuesday night in Sadr City, defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against Shiite militias.  —  The retreat left a crucial stretch of road …

Fight Leaves Democrats Questioning Prospects  —  The battle between Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama over whether Mr. Obama belittled voters in small towns appears to have hardened the views of both candidates' supporters and stirred anxiety among many Democrats about the party's prospects in the fall.

Bill Clinton: Older voters too savvy to fall for Obama  —  QUAKERTOWN, Pa. — Older voters gravitate to Hillary Clinton because they're too wise to be fooled by Barack Obama's rhetoric, former president Bill Clinton told Pennsylvania voters today.  —  Clinton's comments …

Accommodations  —  McDonald's fails to accommodate employee unable to wash hands  —  In Canada, human rights legislation provides that employers have a duty to accommodate disabled workers unless such accommodation would cause “undue hardship” on the employer.

MSNBC won't air ‘controversial’ gun ad  —  The cable network MSNBC has refused to air an advertisement from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the group created by New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg,on the grounds that the ad is too “controversial.”  —  The ad, below, features each …

Pope Should Start “Spiritual Renewal” with Bisexual God  —  On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI asked the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray that his first visit to the United States as pontiff this week would “be a time of spiritual renewal for all Americans.”

Times: ‘We Expect’ Layoffs  —  The New York Times announced that it's all but a done deal that the paper will have to layoff staffers in the newsroom.  —  The drop-dead deadline is fast approaching for the staffers in The New York Times newsroom to raise their hand and volunteer for a buyout.

Ex-CIA Analyst Outs Cheney  —  What could have possessed Prime Minister Maliki to rush headlong into a battle he was thoroughly unprepared for?  The Bush Administration has responded with certainty about only one thing: they were not involved in the planning.

Senate Democrats Can't Count, And They Think You Smell Funny  —  Thanks to the amazing skill Barack Obama has shown this week of how easily he can stick his foot in his mouth while trying to speak off the cuff, the country continues to focus on who is or is not bitter, and whether guns …

Big Tax Breaks for Businesses in Housing Bill  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate proclaimed a fierce bipartisan resolve two weeks ago to help American homeowners in danger of foreclosure.  But while a bill that senators approved last week would take modest steps toward that goal …

McCain Proposes Special Summer Tax Break for Exxon  —  That is what the headlines on Senator McCain's proposal to remove the gas tax for the summer driving season should have read, since that would be the predicted effect of his plan.  —  According to the oil industry …

Obama's claim of independence questioned  —  WASHINGTON — The screen fills with grainy footage of sprawling 1970s gas lines.  —  “Nothing's changed,” Sen. Barack Obama says into the camera, “except now Exxon's making $40 billion a year, and we're paying $3.50 for gas. ...