Lawmakers Reach Deal To Expand Surveillance  —  WASHINGTON — After more than a year of partisan acrimony over government surveillance powers, Democratic and Republican leaders have agreed to a bipartisan deal that would be the most sweeping rewrite of spy powers in three decades.

Obama to Break Promise, Opt Out of Public Financing for General Election  —  In a web video to supporters — “the people who built this movement from the bottom up” — Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, announced this morning that he will not enter into the public financing system, despite a previous pledge to do so.

Obama: ‘Country I Love’  —  This patriotic ad, in which Obama says he was raised with “values straight from the Kansas heartland,” is a reminder of the resources Obama will be able to put behind telling his own story his way, centered on the “deep and abiding faith in the country I love.”

Commentary - Bank of America PAC money behind Dodd's Countrywide loan  —  WASHINGTON (Map, News) - “We call it the ‘Bank of America bill on steroids.’” A House staffer told me that, demanding anonymity, but speaking on behalf of aides to GOP members of the House Financial Services Committee.

Obama apologizes to Muslim women  —  Sen. Barack Obama today called the two Muslim women who were barred from sitting behind him at his Detroit rally to apologize, one of the women and two other sources said.  —  “Sen. Obama called himself and he apologized to each of us,” one of the women, lawyer Hebba Aref, told me just now.

In with the Old  —  Barack Obama has never been shy about comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln.  He did so when he announced his candidacy at the Illinois state capitol, where both he and Lincoln served in the legislature.  “The life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer tells us …

I Will Deliver Justice  —  Senator Obama is obviously confused about what the United States Supreme Court decided and what he is calling for.  After enthusiastically embracing the Supreme Court decision granting habeas in U.S. civilian courts to dangerous terrorist detainees …

Oil uh oh  —  When I first heard McCain come out for drilling offshore for Oil, I knew something must have shifted in public opinion over the matter, especially when FL Gov Crist came out for it: … Rasmussen has more on the polling, in FL, in OH, and nationally.

Bombshell: House Democrats Call for Government Takeover of Oil Refineries  —  Should the Federal Government Run the Entire Oil Industry?  Senior Dem Says: “To Me, That Sounds Like a Very Good Idea”  —  Two weeks ago, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) shocked many observers when she admitted …

Iowa Flooding Could Be An Act of Man, Experts Say  —  As the Cedar River rose higher and higher, and as he stacked sandbags along the levee protecting downtown Cedar Falls, Kamyar Enshayan, a college professor and City Council member, kept asking himself the same question: “What is going on?”

Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High  —  As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies—more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year.  Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip.  Others blamed hit movies like Juno …

It's a delicate dance, and John McCain is ‘liable to break a hip’  —  Long-time readers know that I've been emphasizing John McCain's dozens of major policy flip-flops for months now, hoping that this would a) catch on as a campaign issue; and b) undermine McCain's unearned reputation for principled stands on the issues.

FOX News Poll: Americans Proud to Have Obama, McCain as President  —  Whether John McCain or Barack Obama wins in November, a majority of Americans say they will be proud of the new president, according to a FOX News poll released Thursday.  —  About two-thirds would be at least somewhat proud …