U.S. Says Exercise by Israel Seemed Directed at Iran  —  WASHINGTON — Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.  —  Several American officials …

EXCLUSIVE: Hezbollah Poised to Strike?  —  Officials Say “Sleeper Cells” Activated in Canada  —  Intelligence agencies in the United States and Canada are warning of mounting signs that Hezbollah, backed by Iran, is poised to mount a terror attack against “Jewish targets” somewhere outside the Middle East.

Obama's Decision Threatens Public Financing System  —  From the moment that the public financing system was created in the wake of the Watergate crisis, it was viewed as an imperfect way to rid politics of the excesses of special-interest money.  —  But now, with the decision by Senator Barack …

My Mom's White!  And I'm From America!  —  I feel like Barack Obama's new general election ad is a bit unsubtle.  —  The campaign says they're running it on a very aggressive 18 state play that includes Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Virginia.

Williams Gets the Call for “Meet the Press”  —  Six days after Tim Russert's death, his replacement on “Meet the Press” has been named — at least for this Sunday.  —  Brian Williams, the NBC anchor and Russert's longtime friend, will fill the moderator's chair for the discussion of presidential politics and whatever else pops up.

Surveillance Bill Offers Protection To Telecom Firms  —  Deal Would Extend U.S. Wiretap Power, Shield Providers Facing Privacy Lawsuits  —  House and Senate leaders agreed yesterday on surveillance legislation that could shield telecommunications companies from privacy lawsuits …

McCain and Obama tied in Georgia  —  A New InsiderAdvantage / PollPosition survey conducted June 18 of registered likely voters in the November presidential contest shows Sen. John McCain leading Sen. Barack Obama by a single point in Georgia, making the race in Georgia a statistical tie.

The Two Obamas  —  God, Republicans are saps.  They think that they're running against some academic liberal who wouldn't wear flag pins on his lapel, whose wife isn't proud of America and who went to some liberationist church where the pastor damned his own country.

Obama Considering Olympic Games Ads on NBC  —  Is there such a thing as overexposure?  Barack Obama ads are everywhere on the internet.  They'll be coming to tv in 18 states and who knows how many radio stations.  —  Now, Obama is considering taking out ads on NBC for the Olympic Games.

Don't Miss the Zohan  —  If you've seen the trailer for Adam Sandler's new movie You Don't Mess with the Zohan, it may be tempting to write it off as yet another low-brow comedy aimed at fifteen-year-old boys and best avoided by everyone else.  But wait.  After Hollywood's recent spate …

UDC Reaps a Bumper Crop From Agriculture Measure  —  School's Farming, Extension Programs May Get $10 Million  —  The giant federal farm bill passed by Congress this week will help Iowa corn growers.  It will help Kansas wheat barons.  It also will help James Allen, who dreams of bringing pigweed …

Al-Mahdi Army militias routed without a shot fired  —  They came at dawn, thousands of Iraqi troops and US special forces on a mission to reclaim a lawless city from the militias who ran it.  —  By the end of the day, al-Amarah was under Iraqi Government control - without a shot being fired.

Bad Blood and an Empty Chair  —  The stage was set Wednesday afternoon at the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, civil rights and civil liberties to hear former deputy undersecretary of defense Douglas J. Feith testify about the use of harsh interrogation techniques on detainees.

Obama apologizes to Muslim women; apology accepted  —  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 …

The rise in American inequality  —  Only the top 10% of US earners have seen their incomes grow faster than productivity since 1966.  Part of the top-earner income growth is driven by market forces (superstar economics); the only feasible pro-equality policy here is more progressive taxation.