Obama holds 12-point lead over McCain, poll finds  —  A Times/Bloomberg Poll says that in a two-man contest, 49% of respondents favor Barack Obama, while 37% support John McCain.  With Ralph Nader and Bob Barr added to the mix, Obama holds 15-point edge.  —  » Discuss Article WASHINGTON …

Dodd And Feingold Will Filibuster Telecom Immunity  —  Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) released the following statement today in response to the announcement that the Senate this week will consider the compromise legislation that would reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA):

Color Oregon blue?  —  A fairly stunning new ad from Oregon's Republican senator Gordon Smith leaves little doubt as to which way the wind is blowing there.  —  In the ad, Smith, running hard away from Bush, associates himself at length and explicitly with Obama.

Report Sees Illegal Hiring Practices at Justice Dept.  —  WASHINGTON — Justice Department officials over the last six years illegally used “political or ideological” factors to hire new lawyers into an elite recruitment program, tapping law school graduates with conservative credentials …

Obama To Hammer McCain On Offshore Drilling “Gimmick”  —  From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:  —  (LAS VEGAS) Offshore drilling continues to be a major sticking point between Barack Obama and John McCain, and the two candidates are still jabbing at each other's position for the second week.

Seizing Laptops and Cameras Without Cause  —  A controversial customs practice creates a legal backlash  —  Returning from a brief vacation to Germany in February, Bill Hogan was selected for additional screening by customs officials at Dulles International Airport outside Washington …

Dying Is Hard.  Comedy Is Harder.  —  THE honest truth is, for a comedian, even death is just a premise to make jokes about.  I know this because I was on the phone with George Carlin nine days ago and we were making some death jokes.  We were talking about Tim Russert and Bo Diddley and George said: “I feel safe for a while.

Obama Asks Donors to Raise Money For Clinton  —  Barack Obama asked his finance committee this afternoon to help Senator Hillary Clinton retire her debt.  On a conference call that lasted about 45 minutes Obama made a personal plea to his top donors, telling them he considered it a personal imperative …

Dobson accuses Obama of ‘distorting’ Bible  —  (CNN) — One of the country's leading evangelical leaders is accusing Sen. Barack Obama of deliberately distorting the Bible and taking a “fruitcake interpretation” of the U.S. Constitution.  —  In comments to be aired on his radio show Tuesday …

GOP going for green  —  Senate Republicans aim to undercut Democrats' claim to be the environmentally conscious party by combining their own conservation message with a longstanding push for more oil drilling.  —  The shift, to call for increased energy production and less oil use …

An Honor That Bush Is Unlikely to Embrace  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Reagan has his highways.  Lincoln has his memorial.  Washington has the capital (and a state, too).  But President Bush may soon be the sole president to have a memorial named after him that you can contribute to from the bathroom.