TOXIC  —  For the last week it's seemed that Sens. Clinton and Obama were adhering to their tacit truce, continuing the primary campaign but avoiding the harsh exchanges that make later party unity a dimmer and dimmer prospect.  Clinton particularly had deescalated her rhetoric.

McCain officially rejects Hagee endorsement  —  From CNN Correspondent Brian Todd, CNN's Dugald McConnell, CNN's Rebecca Sinderbrand  —  (CNN) — In the face of mounting controversy over headline-grabbing statements from Pastor John Hagee, CNN has learned presumptive Republican nominee John McCain …

Appeals Court Rules Against Texas in Polygamy Case  —  A Texas state court of appeals ruled Thursday afternoon that the state of Texas had no right to seize more than 400 children from a polygamist ranch in Eldorado, in the western part of the state, because there was not sufficient proof that they were in immediate danger.

The Nightmare Ticket Is Dead  —  Time magazine's Karen Tumulty reports: … The Field can now confirm, based on multiple sources, something that both campaigns publicly deny: that Senator Clinton has directly told Senator Obama that she wants to be his vice presidential nominee …

McCain To Obama: Don't Demagogue The GI Bill  —  I don't usually print entire press statements from campaigns, but they're usually not this acidic.  The casus belli is today's vote on Sen. Jim Webb's GI bill; McCain opposes it because he worries about military retention and/but has offered …

Powerful Iraqi cleric flirting with Shiite militant message  —  BAGHDAD - Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible — a potentially significant shift by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad.

Exposed  —  Back in 2006, when I was 24, my life was cozy and safe.  I had just been promoted to associate editor at the publishing house where I'd been working since I graduated from college, and I was living with my boyfriend, Henry, and two cats in a grubby but spacious two-bedroom apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Ellen DeGeneres weds: McCain walks me?  —  Ellen DeGeneres, who hosts a popular daytime television talk show and has announced on-air that she will marry her girlfriend, broached the question of gay marriage today with Republican John McCain, the party's presumptive presidential nominee.

I'd like wife to take my seat: Kennedy  —  Ted Kennedy has made clear to confidants that when his time is up, he wants his Senate seat to stay in the family - with his wife, Vicki.  —  Multiple sources in Massachusetts with close ties to the liberal lion say his wife of 16 years has long …

TIME Preview: Michelle Obama Actually Connects with Audience — and Howard Dean Calls for End of Electoral College  —  NEW YORK The coming issue of Time magazine, arriving on Friday, looks at the debate over the pros and cons of Michelle Obama's on-the-stump performance.

The Elephant in the Room: A wake-up call on gay marriage after '03 alarm went unheeded  —  Bigot!  Hate-monger!  Homophobe!  —  Those were just a few of the terms hurled my way in 2003 when I said that the Supreme Court's Texas sodomy decision opened the door to the redefinition of marriage.