Comedian George Carlin dies in Los Angeles at 71  —  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said.  He was 71.

Bolton: Israel Will Attack Iran After U.S. Election But Before Inauguration, Arab States Will Be ‘Delighted’  —  This morning on Fox News, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton continued his drumbeat for war against Iran.  Adopting Bill Kristol's argument, Bolton suggested that an attack …

Lost in Translation: Alhurra—America's Troubled Effort to Win Middle East Hearts and Minds  —  An Arab-language television network and radio station, founded by the Bush administration to promote a positive image of the United States, has aired anti-American and anti-Israeli viewpoints …

Three women who might join the GOP ticket  —  While the vice presidential slot may be John McCain's best means of wooing those Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters who remain loath to embrace Barack Obama, the Republican party is a thin source of politically viable women, leaving McCain with few top-tier options.

Gallup Daily: Election Preferences Are Stable  —  PRINCETON, NJ — National registered voters' preferences for the general election remain closely divided between Democrat Barack Obama (46%) and Republican John McCain (44%).  —  Gallup Poll Daily tracking for June 19-21 shows …

Obama Gets Another Unwanted Endorsement  —  [Update: Well, that didn't take long.  Welcome from Little Green Footballs, Michelle Maklin, the Jawa Report, the unlinkable Memeorandum, and my good friend at Gateway Pundit.  Regulars here know that I'm completely disgusted with Bush's own appeasement …

NBC's Tom Brokaw will moderate ‘Meet the Press’ through election  —  Beginning on Sunday, June 29, NBC News' Tom Brokaw will serve as moderator of “Meet the Press” through the 2008 presidential election.  The broadcast will continue to originate from the NBC News Bureau in Washington D.C …

Obama Moves To Reintroduce Himself to Voters  —  In the opening weeks of the general-election campaign, Sen. Barack Obama has moved aggressively to shape his campaign and offered a clear road map for the kind of candidate he is likely to become in the months ahead: an ambitious gamer of the electoral map …

Sen. Dodd's Negligence  —  Call it Sen. Christopher J. Dodd's sin of omission.  —  The senator and his wife, Jackie, got a very good deal when they refinanced their East Haddam and Washington, D.C., homes through Countrywide Financial Corp. in 2003.  Actually, it was an extraordinarily good deal.

Staten Island G.O.P. Candidate Dies  —  The candidate endorsed by Republican leaders to run for a Congressional seat being vacated by Representative Vito J. Fossella died on Sunday morning at his home in Staten Island, party leaders said.  —  The candidate, Francis H. Powers …

David Broder wanks away on the McCain Town Hall meetings that Obama turned down.  —  Obama's money advantage really has the Beltway Villagers very upset.  David Broder comes out and blasts Obama in behalf of his pal John McCain in his new column.  Chris Cillizza thinks Broder is EF Hutton so you'd all better listen.

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Hits Women Much More  —  WASHINGTON — The Army and Air Force discharged a disproportionate number of women in 2007 under the “don't ask, don't tell” policy that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military, according to Pentagon statistics gathered by an advocacy group.

The State of Iraq: An Update  —  IRAQ remains a violent country plagued by high unemployment, raw wounds from sectarian conflict, extremist militias aided by Iran, more than four million people still displaced by violence, and very limited government capacity to meet the country's core needs.