Apparent suicide in anthrax case  —  Bruce E. Ivins, a scientist who helped the FBI investigate the 2001 mail attacks, was about to face charges.  —  A top government scientist who helped the FBI analyze samples from the 2001 anthrax attacks has died in Maryland from an apparent suicide …

Rappers' Shout-Outs Make Obama Skip a Beat  —  In the arsenal of the culture wars, rap music remains somewhat radioactive — and Barack Obama now finds himself exposed.  —  Avowed Obama supporter Ludacris on Wednesday released a freewheeling song called “Politics” in which he repeatedly praised …

Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win  —  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies — including Wal-Mart.

Employment Situation Summary  —  Technical information:  —  Household data: (202) 691-6378 USDL 08-1049  —  Establishment data: (202) 691-6555 Transmission of material in this release  —  http://www.bls.gov/ces/ is embargoed until 8:30 A.M. (EDT), Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, August 1, 2008.

Freedom  —  Ezra's damn right about this.  Go to pretty much any populated part of the United States, buy some land, and try to build something on it and you'll find that there are a lot of land-use restrictions in place.  Some of these rules are good, some of them are bad …

Too Fit to Be President?  —  Facing an Overweight Electorate, Barack Obama Might Find Low Body Fat a Drawback  —  Speaking to donors at a San Diego fund-raiser last month, Barack Obama reassured the crowd that he wouldn't give in to Republican tactics to throw his candidacy off track.

The Curious Mind of John McCain  —  Ambition and Emotion Color the Complex Intellect of the Candidate  —  In his 2002 book, “Worth the Fighting For,” John McCain offered this confession — an acknowledgment of a restless mind: “Although I seem to tolerate introspection better the older I am …

Pelosi: Save the Planet, Let Someone Else Drill  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposes lifting the moratorium on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and on the Outer Continental Shelf.  She won't even allow it to come to a vote.  With $4 gas having massively shifted public opinion …

Good Advice  —  As sometimes happens when I read Marc Ambinder's blog, today I'm puzzled by the mentality of the campaign reporter: … Here's my understanding of the sequence of events.  Gas prices are on the rise.  Consumers are feeling pain, harm is being done to the economy.

Malwebolence  —  One afternoon in the spring of 2006, for reasons unknown to those who knew him, Mitchell Henderson, a seventh grader from Rochester, Minn., took a .22-caliber rifle down from a shelf in his parents' bedroom closet and shot himself in the head.

Pakistanis Aided Attack in Kabul, U.S. Officials Say  —  WASHINGTON — American intelligence agencies have concluded that members of Pakistan's powerful spy service helped plan the deadly July 7 bombing of India's embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to United States government officials.

Run against the GOP, Cole tells hopefuls  —  Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told GOP congressional hopefuls on Thursday that they should not be afraid to criticize both political parties - including Republican members of the House.  —  During a conference call, the National Republican Congressional …

Obama's ‘emergency’ economic plan  —  Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Friday announced an “Emergency Economic Plan” that would give families a stimulus check of $1,000 each, funded in part by what his presidential campaign calls “windfall profits from Big Oil.”  —  Details are in this six-page policy paper.