Court says detainees have rights, bucking Bush  —  WASHINGTON - In a stinging rebuke to President Bush's anti-terror policies, a deeply divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign detainees held for years at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have the right to appeal to U.S. civilian courts …

Obama's birth certificate  —  The National Review's Jim Geraghty, who (ironically) helped debunk the “Michelle Obama railing against ‘whitey’” video rumors, recently wrote about a new set of rumors: … Those rumors include the claim that Obama was born in Kenya, that his middle name isn't …

The Smear Page Smears the Smearmaster  —  Obama's campaign has launched a website meant to push back against the viral campaign against him called “Fight the Smears.”  The fact hub, replete with a Truth Bird, includes this: … But Stone, while absolutely spreading rumor of the tape, didn't say he had evidence.

PUTTING OBAMA'S LEAD INTO PERSPECTIVE  —  From NBC's Mark Murray  —  In the latest NBC/WSJ poll, Obama leads McCain by six points (47%-41%) among registered voters.  While polls can't accurately gauge an election five months out — after all, so much can still happen …

Ron Paul to End Campaign, Launches New Effort  —  Supporters Plot Shadow Convention, More Revolution  —  Rep. Ron Paul's presidential campaign, a pugnacious, ideological crusade against big government and interventionist leanings in the Republican party, will officially end Thursday …

A Preliminary Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans  —  The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration.  The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

Obama moves DNC operations to Chicago  —  In a major shakeup at the Democratic National Committee — and a departure from tradition — large parts of the committee's operations are relocating to Chicago to be fully integrated with the Obama campaign.  —  The DNC's political department …

CNN host lets talk go on of a possible run  —  Dobbs for N.J. governor?  —  It's a hot topic in Republican political and fundraising circles: CNN's Lou Dobbs is thinking of running for governor of New Jersey.  —  Several well-connected Republicans say they've heard the buzz that Dobbs …

Rezko: Feds pushed for dirt on Obama  —  Imprisoned Chicago businessman Antoin “Tony” Rezko has accused federal prosecutors of improperly pressuring him to implicate Barack Obama in a corruption case.  —  In a letter to the U.S. District judge who presided over his trial, Rezko …

Ex-Friends of Barack  —  It turns out that Jim Johnson was not the man Barack Obama thought he knew.  The presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee threw the former Fannie Mae CEO over the side as his Vice Presidential vetter yesterday, only a day after he'd said that Mr. Johnson was only …

Fox addresses baby mama drama: Producer used ‘poor judgment’  —  Since Salon's Alex Koppelman caught Fox News characterizing Michelle Obama as “Obama's Baby Mama,” there's been an uproar over use of such an offensive term.  —  “A producer on the program exercised poor judgment in using …

Why She Lost  —  Hillary's message man, Mark Penn, gives us the exclusive postmortem...and still wonders where all the money went  —  WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION of Hillary Clinton, there was no one in the primary race with higher negatives, as they say, than Mark Penn, her beleaguered chief strategist.

China-Cuba rumors fuel renewed offshore drilling debate  —  Rumors of China drilling in Cuban waters are rallying support for drilling off Florida's coast, but experts say they're untrue.  —  Facebook  —  AIM  —  lclark@MiamiHerald.com  —  WASHINGTON — With gas topping $4 a gallon …