Robert Novak Hospitalized  —  Robert Novak was admitted yesterday to a Boston hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  In a written statement given to his publisher, Novak said:  —  “On Sunday, July 27, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  I have been admitted to Brigham …

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.

Police: Accused shooter hated liberals, expected to be killed  —  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.

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 …

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.”

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 …

FIRST THOUGHTS: ANALYZE THIS  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro  —  *** Analyze this: We've now crossed the 100-day mark before Election Day, and the chattering class is going to obsessed with two things this week: 1) over-analyzing the veepstakes and 2) over-analyzing any overseas bounce for Obama.

The Streisand interview  —  “She sometimes answers questions by e-mail,” said one of Barbra Streisand's trusted confidants, when asked if the star would consent to an interview with Politico.  Streisand, who occasionally posts political statements on her own website, rarely does print Q …

Female suicide bombers target pilgrims, rally  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Four female suicide bombers and a gunman killed at least 70 people and wounded almost 300 others during a string of attacks in central Baghdad and Kirkuk on Monday, officials said.  —  In Baghdad, three suicide bombers detonated …

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.”

Will McCain Abandon Cap and Trade  —  John McCain likes to point to his record on climate change as an example of an issue on which he differs with the Bush administration.  But over time his once good-for-a-Republican record on this has started to look more and more threadbare.

U.S. Deficit to Reach Record $490 Billion in 2009  —  The U.S. budget deficit will widen to a record of about $490 billion next year, an administration official said, leaving a deep budget hole that will constrain the next president's tax and spending plans.

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 …

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” …