Michelle Obama: Barack has hit boiling point  —  Barack Obama is struggling to contain his anger and frustration over the constant barrage of questions about his character and judgment, his wife has revealed.  —  Michelle Obama lifted the lid on the irritation felt by the leading Democrat candidate …

Guam by seven, J-Mart on the age issue, Perino in Pueblo, Townsend to CNN  —  BREAKING NEWS: RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the year-end goal of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is still achievable.  —  Good Sunday morning.  Hope Den 2 is having a chigger-free campout.

Hillary's Horse  —  Tragedy struck the first filly in the Kentucky Derby since 1999, as Eight Belles went down on the track after her second-place finish today, broke two ankles, and was euthanized.  —  Showing a sisterhood with the female horse, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. …

Democrat Wins La. Special Election  —  State Rep. Don Cazayoux won the special election in Louisiana's 6th district yesterday, a victory that marks the second time this year that Democrats have won a seat previously held by a Republican.  —  Cazayoux, a conservative Democrat …

The Silent Scream of the Asparagus  —  You just knew it was coming: At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the “dignity” of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong.  This is no hoax.  The concept of what could be called “plant rights” is being seriously debated.

Saudis' secret agenda  —  THE cheque from the Saudi Government for $360,000 was enclosed in an envelope.  —  It was a donation, a gift, a part payment to subsidise the construction of a building that would become Sydney's Muslim heartbeat: Lakemba mosque.  More than 35 years …

Strategic Collapse in the War on Terror  —  Words matter, and in the global war on terror we are losing the battle of words, in a self-inflicted defeat.  The consequences could not be more profound.  —  Recent government policy memoranda, circulating through the national counter-terrorism …

Greetings from Guantanamo Bay ... and the sickest souvenir shop in the world  —  The sands are white, the sea laps gently and crowds of bronzed Americans laze in the Caribbean sunshine.  —  They have a cinema, a golf course and, naturally, a gift shop stocked with mugs …

Republican Ron Paul predicts a President Obama come January  —  Rep. Ron Paul, the House member from Texas who technically remains in the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination against Sen. John McCain, predicts that Democratic Sen. Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.

The All-White Elephant in the Room  —  BORED by those endless replays of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright?  If so, go directly to YouTube, search for “John Hagee Roman Church Hitler,” and be recharged by a fresh jolt of clerical jive.  —  What you'll find is a white televangelist, the Rev. John Hagee …

United States is drawing up plans to strike on Iranian insurgency camp  —  Read Mick Smith's defence blog at www.timesonline.co.uk/micksmith  —  The US military is drawing up plans for a “surgical strike” against an insurgent training camp inside Iran if Republican Guards continue with attempts …

China on alert over deadly child virus  —  BEIJING, China (CNN) — China's Health Ministry strengthened surveillance and dispatched specialists to the eastern Anhui province as the death toll from a virulent virus climbed to 22, the Xinhua News Agency reported.