Iraqis lead final purge of Al-Qaeda  —  American and Iraqi forces are driving Al-Qaeda in Iraq out of its last redoubt in the north of the country in the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror.  —  After being forced from its strongholds in the west …

Obama backtracks on late-term abortions.  —  Does he think we won't notice?  First, he limited the health exception to “serious physical” things: … Then, he switched!  He now wants a mental health exception! … So as long as a woman can get her “blues” classified by a medical health professional as …

Employers Fight Tough Measures on Immigration  —  Under pressure from the toughest crackdown on illegal immigration in two decades, employers across the country are fighting back in state legislatures, the federal courts and city halls.  —  Business groups have resisted measures that would revoke …

US Pentagon doubts Israeli intelligence over Iran's nuclear programme  —  Pentagon chiefs fear that Israeli plans for an attack on Iran's nuclear programme will fail to destroy the facilities because neither the CIA nor Mossad knows where every base is located

Election 2008: Rhode Island Presidential Election  —  Rhode Island: Obama Enjoys Big Lead in Blue State  —  Barack Obama leads John McCain 55% to 31% in Rhode Island, according to the first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state since the primaries.

Wall-E for President  —  SO much for a July Fourth week spent in idyllic celebration of our country's birthday.  This year's festivities were marked instead by a debate — childish, not constitutional — over who is and isn't patriotic.  The fireworks were sparked by a verbally maladroit retired general …

Sniffer dogs to wear ‘Muslim’ bootees  —  Police sniffer dogs will have to wear bootees when searching the homes of Muslims so as not to cause offence.  —  Guidelines being drawn up by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) urge awareness of religious sensitivities when using dogs to search for drugs and explosives.

John McCain: ‘I hate the bloggers’  —  John McCain, Town Hall Meeting, Merrimack, NH 12/29/07  —  Hey right wing bloggers.  I think he's talking about you too. … I'm giddy with the thought that he isn't very fond of me.

Veterans Hit the Battlegrounds  —  Sen. John McCain is getting battleground-state help this week from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who will appear in a television commercial aimed at convincing the public that the United States is winning the Iraq war and should stay to finish the job.

Obama Addresses His Faith  —  Sen. Barack Obama ended a week's focus on values by giving a conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church a highly personal account of his spiritual journey and a promise that he will make “faith-based” social service “a moral center of my administration.”

Obama: Rest assured, I'm still fully committed to abandoning Iraq  —  Flip-flop-flip: … That last bit, feigning shock that people are paying close attention to what the Democratic nominee says about the signature foreign policy issue of the campaign, must be the most precious bit of shinola …

Americans' unhappy birthday: ‘Too much wrong right now’  —  Even folks in the Optimist Club are having a tough time toeing an upbeat line these days.  —  Eighteen members of the volunteer organization's Gilbert, Ariz., chapter have gathered, a few days before this nation's 232nd birthday …