Gains for McCain in latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll  —  Republican presidential candidate John McCain moved from being behind by 6 points among “likely” voters a month ago to a 4-point lead over Democrat Barack Obama among that group in the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.

Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity on accused shooter's reading list  —  4-page letter outlines frustration, hatred of ‘liberal movement’  —  Please download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player, or enable JavaScript for your browser to view the video player.

Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak says he has brain tumor  —  Biopsy set for later today  —  Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak said today he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor but says that, “God willing,” he plans to be back at work soon.  —  Novak said he was diagnosed Sunday …

Justice Officials Repeatedly Broke Law on Hiring, Report Says  —  Former Justice Department counselor Monica M. Goodling and former chief of staff D. Kyle Sampson routinely broke the law by conducting political litmus tests on candidates for jobs as immigration judges and line prosecutors …

Kaine ‘very, very high’ on VP shortlist  —  As Senator Barack Obama turns to the choice of his running mate, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has emerged as one of the campaign's potential finalists, sources familiar with conversations in Richmond and in Chicago said.

Double Entendre Kisses Off MoveOn's Youth Moblization Effort  —  MoveOn.Org claims this is the first political ad to air on Comedy Central:  —  “I've been living with it for a while now.”  —  No, not the syph.  —  It's “hope.”  The guy on the right is Rider Strong from “Boy Meets World.”

Go take a hike, injured vets tell nervy Cheney  —  WASHINGTON - Vice President Cheney's invitation to address wounded combat veterans next month has been yanked because the group felt his security demands were Draconian and unreasonable.  —  The veep had planned to speak to the Disabled American Veterans …

Be Afraid.  Please.  —  Life is full of disappointments.  —  Early Friday, I went to the Real Clear Politics Web site, as I do every morning, for my fix of political news and commentary.  I perked up when I saw the third entry on the list of that day's notable articles — “No. 44 Has Spoken.”

Attorney: Probe Israeli paper for printing Obama note  —  Attorney Shahar Alon petitioned Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz on Sunday to order police to open a criminal investigation against the editor of Ma'ariv and other correspondents from the newspaper following its publication …

McCain has spot removed, awaits biopsy  —  Sen. John McCain, who survived melanoma three times after suffering sun damage from his years as a Vietnam POW, said he had a spot of skin removed from his right cheek today.  Doctors will perform a biopsy of the spot, AP reports.

A NOTE ABOUT THE OBAMA STAFFING TODAY  —  From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli  —  Obama departed Reagan-National Airport in DC 10 minutes ago en route to his economic event.  —  It's worth noting that campaign manager David Plouffe is traveling with the candidate today (which I understand has happened …

How Important Was the Surge?  —  Ten Iraq experts weigh in on the effectiveness of the surge.  —  The past few weeks have been momentous for the national conversation about Iraq.  Nouri al-Maliki's explicitly stated insistence on a timetable for American withdrawal was transformative.

Change Obama can't believe in; he's on a ticket with Larry Craig  —  Here's how Republican Idaho is:  —  In 1992, Bill Clinton came within 1 percentage point of finishing third there in the general election behind President George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot.

Bonnie Fuller on Team Obama's Tabloid Strategy  —  Portraying Barack and Michelle as Brangelina Is Working  —  It's official.  The Obamas are just like us.  With their latest PR move — being photographed as a family for this week's People magazine cover story titled “The Obamas At Home” …