Breaking: Novak cited after hitting pedestrian  —  Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak was cited by police after he hit a pedestrian with his black Corvette in downtown Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning.  —  A Politico reporter saw Novak in the front of a police car with a citation in his hand …

Obama incorrectly claims membership of Senate committee  —  (CNN) - Responding to an Israeli reporter's question Wednesday on his commitment to protect the Jewish state, Barack Obama pointed to a bill “we passed” in the U.S. Senate Banking Committee that tightens sanctions and authorizes divestment from Iran.

TEASING THE NEW NBC/WSJ POLL  —  Here's one result from the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that will be released tonight at 6:30 pm ET on Nightly News and MSNBC.com... With the news that Iraq's prime minister wants the US to set a timetable for withdrawal, 60% of registered voters believe it's …

McCain to counterprogram Obama in Germany with visit to Gulf Coast oil rig  —  While Barack Obama is speaking about international affairs in Germany before thousands of fans tomorrow, John McCain will be talking about a pressing domestic issue with an equally striking if very different backdrop.

Newt on Veep: No more boring white guys  —  My colleague Ken Vogel has Newt's advice on who McCain should not pick as veep:

Liberal Fascism  —  Not only does Barack Obama, as uncovered by Patrick Ruffini, try to communicate to residents of Germany in the German language he also (as Dr. Melissa Couthier sagely observes) uses images of himself in profile just like Adolf Hitler did.

McCain message to hit Berlin Thursday  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Barack Obama is not the only presidential candidate who will be front-and-center in Berlin this Thursday.  Well, sort of.  —  In the latest effort to counter-program Obama's tour of Europe and the Middle East …

McCain Defends Anbar-Before-Surge Scenario  —  “Yesterday,” a reporter asked McCain, “you suggested that the surge in Iraq predated the Anbar rebellion, and actually the Anbar rebellion came a couple of months previously.  Did you misspeak, or did you have something else in mind?”

Olympic Deal Sealed: Obama Makes $5 Million Buy  —  Candidate's Package Includes National Network, Cable  —  WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) — It's official.  Sen. Barack Obama's campaign will be among the TV sponsors of NBC Universal's Olympics coverage.  In the first significant network-TV buy …

Hey, Barack Obama Exists After All  —  The latest news from the Obama Conspiracyverse is the first third-party proof of Obama's birth in Hawaii.  It's a birth announcement from a 1961 issue of the Honolulu Advertiser that was dug up, ironically enough, by Lori Starfelt, who's working on an anti-Obama documentary for pro-Clinton PUMAs.

Obama politically and physically fit: Merkel  —  BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is an admirer of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama — even though she has not yet met him in person.  —  Asked at a news conference on Wednesday what she thought of Obama, Merkel responded …

Not lost in translation  —  One more piece of evidence (not that we need one, the tape having surfaced) that Maliki praised Obama's plan, and one more item making his claim of a “mistranslation” — and CENTCOM's distribution of that claim — all the more incomprehensible:

Tales From The JV Squad: No Press Avail  —  WILKES-BARRE, PA — The one scheduled McCain press conference of the week has just been canceled, we are told.  No word as to why.  Grumble, grumble.  —  Why?  Scheduling.  Which is like answering “food” to “what did you eat for breakfast.”

David Gregory: NBC's Lame-Duck?  —  On the morning of Sunday, July 20, NBC News paterfamilias Tom Brokaw was wrapping up Meet the Press, where he has been anchor since the sudden and untimely death of Tim Russert.  —  The weekly round table had ended, and it was time to say goodbye to his guests …

Fliers Complain About X-Rated Security Screenings  —  TSA Agents Forced Woman To Remove Nipple Rings, Pulled Pants Off Disabled Man  —  When travelers go to the airport, they know what kind of security to expect: luggage searches, metal detectors and shoe inspections.