Gramm Stands by Recession Comments  —  Former senator Phil Gramm — under fire for saying the United States has “become a nation of whiners” — said in an interview today that he meant the nation's leaders were whiners, not its citizens.  —  But the top adviser to Sen. John McCain repeated …

Jackson's Obama comments almost went unnoticed  —  A Fox News technician transcribing the tape overnight heard it, and it took off from there.  —  NEW YORK — The news that the Rev. Jesse Jackson took a crude swipe at Sen. Barack Obama this week put renewed scrutiny on the relationship between …

Pelosi says House Judiciary may hold hearings on Kucinich impeachment resolution  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said this morning that the House Judiciary Committee may hold hearings on an impeachment resolution offered by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).

In an Iranian Image, a Missile Too Many  —  Updated, 9:33 a.m., Agence France-Presse has retracted the image as “apparently digitally altered.”  —  As news spread across the world of Iran's provocative missile tests, so did an image of four missiles heading skyward in unison.

Rangel Rents Apartments at Bargain Rates  —  While aggressive evictions are reducing the number of rent-stabilized apartments in New York, Representative Charles B. Rangel is enjoying four of them, including three adjacent units on the 16th floor overlooking Upper Manhattan in a building owned …

The Hubris Of Obama?  —  A few things have unsettled me these past couple of weeks about the Obama campaign.  It is not the small adjustments to previously-held positions - FISA, the Second Amendment, Iraq.  It's a sense that Obama's ample self-regard is lapsing into hubris.

Obama Reacts to Debate in Berlin  —  Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she finds Barack Obama's plan to give a speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin a bit “odd.”  Obama's spokesman now says Obama will find a Berlin location for his speech that makes the most sense for him and his hosts.

President George Bush: 'Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter'  —  George Bush surprised world leaders with a joke about his poor record on the environment as he left the G8 summit in Japan.  —  The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change …

In Pennsylvania, McCain Tells a New Version of Heroic P.O.W. Story — Subbing the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Green Bay Packers  —  Yesterday in Pittsburgh, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., professed his love for the Steelers to KDKA-TV.  —  Watch HERE.  —  Asked what first comes to his mind …

McCain has best fundraising in June, $22M  —  WASHINGTON - Republican presidential candidate John McCain raised more than $22 million in June, his best fundraising performance of the year, and ended the month with nearly $27 million cash on hand.  —  Campaign manager Rick Davis said Thursday …

Election 2008: North Dakota Presidential Election  —  North Dakota: McCain and Obama Tied  —  North Dakota is as safe a Republican state as any in Presidential elections.  George W. Bush carried the state by twenty-seven points in Election 2004 and twenty-eight points four years earlier.

McCain's Eligibility Is Disputed by Professor  —  In the most detailed examination yet of Senator John McCain's eligibility to be president, a law professor at the University of Arizona has concluded that neither Mr. McCain's birth in 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone nor the fact that his parents …

OPEC warns against military conflict with Iran  —  VIENNA: The head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries warned Thursday that oil prices would see an “unlimited” increase in the case of a military conflict involving Iran, because the group's members would be unable to make up the lost production.

U.S. Considers Takeover of Two Mortgage Giants  —  WASHINGTON — Alarmed by the growing financial stress at the nation's two largest mortgage finance companies, senior Bush administration officials are considering a plan to have the government take over one or both of the companies and place …

Pelosi: Drilling in protected areas ‘a hoax’  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday shut the door on expanding oil and gas drilling beyond areas that have already been approved for energy exploration, drawing a clear distinction from her counterparts in charge of the Senate.

STRAIGHT FROM THE KANSAS HEARTLAND, BY WAY OF REV. WRIGHT'S CHURCH  —  Barack Obama is on the air in the Washington D.C. media market with a bio-ad that touts his love of America and describes his values as coming “straight from the Kansas heartland.”  The ad presumably is aimed at Northern Virginia voters.