Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon's Hidden Hand  —  In the summer of 2005, the Bush administration confronted a fresh wave of criticism over Guantánamo Bay.  The detention center had just been branded “the gulag of our times” by Amnesty International, there were new allegations of abuse …

RIDING THE RAILS WITH SEN. OBAMA IN PENNSYLVANIA.  —  DOWNINGTON, Pa.— At the next train stop, I'm going to stand behind Senator Obama when he speaks.  When he's decrying the trivial distractions in politics, I think he may be crossing his fingers behind his back.

Gallup Daily: Clinton 46%, Obama 45%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Poll Daily tracking shows that Hillary Clinton now receives 46% of the support of Democrats nationally, compared to 45% for Barack Obama, marking the first time Obama has not led in Gallup's daily tracking since March 18-20.

Iraqi Army Seizes Basra From Militia as Cleric Threatens New Uprising  —  BAGHDAD — Iraqi soldiers took control of the last bastions of the cleric Moktada al-Sadr's militia in Basra on Saturday, and Iran's ambassador to Baghdad strongly endorsed the Iraqi government's monthlong military operation against the fighters.

Clintons Sort Friends: Past and Present  —  WASHINGTON — Nancy Larson's most difficult conversation was, by far, the one with Chelsea Clinton.  —  “It was just heartbreaking,” said Mrs. Larson, a Democratic National Committee member from Minnesota and more to the point …

Trigger Happy  —  In words that he has come to regret, Barack Obama opined as to why he was having a hard time winning over many blue-collar voters: “They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or antitrade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

U.S. Commanders Seeking to Widen Pakistan Attacks  —  WASHINGTON — American commanders in Afghanistan have in recent months urged a widening of the war that could include American attacks on indigenous Pakistani militants in the tribal areas inside Pakistan, according to United States officials.

Obama pushes across Pa.  —  He ended the day urging thousands in Phila. to send a message Tuesday.  —  Sen. Barack Obama launched his closing Pennsylvania blitz yesterday by traveling from one corner of the state to the other, starting in Erie and closing with a massive outdoor rally on the streets of Philadelphia.

Obama linked to gun control efforts  —  Barack Obama's presidential campaign has worked to assure uneasy gun owners that he believes the Constitution protects their rights and that he doesn't want to take away their guns.  —  But before he became a national political figure …