Maliki Aide's Statement Came After U.S. Call  —  The statement by an aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki calling his remarks in Der Spiegel “misinterpreted and mistranslated” followed a call to the prime minister's office from U.S. government officials in Iraq.

ATLAS EXCLUSIVE: FINAL REPORT ON OBAMA BIRTH CERTIFICATE FORGERY CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN  —  Techdude delivers a final report that exceeds my wildest expectations.  It is irrefutable, empirical evidence - Obama's birth certificate is a forgery. … My deepest thanks and appreciation …

Barack Obama's Butterfly Effect  —  Today on CBS's Face the Nation, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in Afghanistan, told the paparazzi-pursued correspondent Lara Logan that “the objective of this trip was to have substantive discussions with people like President Karzai or Prime Minister Maliki …

Dobson shifts positions, may endorse McCain  —  Conservative Christian leader James Dobson has softened his stance against Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, saying he could reverse his position and endorse the Arizona senator despite serious misgivings.

McCain's senior foreign policy advisor tied to global petro-influence peddling  —  John McCain's senior foreign policy adviser is a close business associate of Stephen Payne, the lobbyist caught on tape offering access to top administration officials in exchange for donations to the Bush Library.

The Chris Matthews Show: Why The White House REALLY Wants McCain To Win  —  We've long since documented the desperate lengths that John McCain is willing to go to win the office of the Presidency, even to the point of hiring the same people responsible for those whisper campaigns in 2000 …

Gordon Brown aide a victim of honeytrap operation by Chinese agents  —  A top aide to Gordon Brown has been a suspected victim of a “honeytrap” operation by Chinese intelligence agents.  —  The aide, a senior Downing Street adviser who was with the prime minister on a trip to China earlier this year …

Slaying suspect once found sanctuary in S.F.  —  The man charged with killing a father and two sons on a San Francisco street last month was one of the youths who benefited from the city's long-standing practice of shielding illegal immigrant juveniles who committed felonies from possible deportation, The Chronicle has learned.

McCain and Obama Agree to Attend Megachurch Forum  —  It has taken a man of God, perhaps, to do what nobody else has been able to do since the general election season began: Get Barack Obama and John McCain together on the same stage before their party conventions later this summer.

Given a Shovel, Americans Dig Deeper Into Debt  —  The collection agencies call at least 20 times a day.  For a little quiet, Diane McLeod stashes her phone in the dishwasher.  —  But right up until she hit the wall financially, Ms. McLeod was a dream customer for lenders.