Alaska's Sen. Ted Stevens indicted by federal grand jury  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate and one of the chamber's most powerful members, was indicted Tuesday in Washington, a result of a year-long investigation into corruption in Alaska politics.

Let's give “Blue Dogs” the boot  —  Pushing conservative Democrats out of Congress could help the party stand up to the GOP.  —  In American politics, exceedingly few positions generate overwhelming agreement across the ideological spectrum.  Even propositions that ought to be uncontroversial …

Gallup Daily: Obama 47%, McCain 41%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama's lead over John McCain, having reached a nine percentage point margin a few days ago, has been reduced for the second Gallup report in a row, and is now at a 6-point, 47% to 41%, margin among registered voters in Gallup Poll Daily tracking conducted July 26-28.

Earthquake rocks Los Angeles  —  LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — A magnitude-5.8 earthquake has struck just east of Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.  —  The quake's epicenter was about 2 miles southwest of Chino Hills and about 5 miles southeast of Diamond Bar, the USGS said.

Huck compares McCain to Dole  —  Mike Huckabee, speaking a bit more freely in his new capacity as a Fox News contributor, used a “Hannity & Colmes” appearance last night to offer a candid assessment of McCain's performance last week.  —  Huck used two words that dare not speak their name in McCainworld: “Dole” and “anger:”

A Few Thoughts  —  I'm just back from a week's vacation.  A few thoughts by way of catching up:  —The best thing about Obama's Europe trip was the images, and that's because Obama is a politician of physical genius.  He looks great, moves with grace, and holds himself with a natural authority.

From the Fact Check Desk: Did Obama Say During the Debate Over the Surge That “There's No Doubt that Additional U.S. Troops Could Temporarily Quell the Violence?”  —  Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, on January 10 2007 predicted (watch HERE) that the surge of troops in Iraq would fail.

Obama the Unknown  —  “Just tell me one thing Barack Obama has done that you admire,” I asked a prominent Democrat.  He paused and then said that he admired Obama's speech to the Democratic convention in 2004.  I agreed.  It was a hell of a speech, but it was just a speech.

Discussion: An Elite Backlash Against McCain's Tone? … A question from “Scott” in New York is just the start of it.  USA Today calls a new McCain ad “a marker on the path toward the kind of simplistic, counterproductive demonizing that many expect will poison the fall campaign.”

10 Things to Scratch From Your Worry List  —  For most of the year, it is the duty of the press to scour the known universe looking for ways to ruin your day.  The more fear, guilt or angst a news story induces, the better.  But with August upon us, perhaps you're in the mood for a break …

Sad State of the RNC  —  A few minutes ago, I received an email alert from the Republican National Committee with the following title:  —  ***MEDIA ADVISORY***  —  RNC Launches New Web Video: “Obama TV Ad In Berlin”  —  Curious, I clicked through to watch the video …

McCain Spokesman: John McCain Doesn't Know What He's Talking About On Social Security  —  On Sunday, ABC's George Stephanopoilos asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) about his plans to fix social security.  McCain said repeatedly that “everything has to be on the table” regarding possible reforms — including a payroll tax increase:

Obamanomics Is a Recipe for Recession  —  What if I told you that a prominent global political figure in recent months has proposed: abrogating key features of his government's contracts with energy companies; unilaterally renegotiating his country's international economic treaties …