Russia Says It Has Ordered Halt to Georgia Military Action  —  MOSCOW — President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia announced Tuesday that he had ordered a halt to his country's military operation in Georgia, although he did not say that troops were pulling out and he insisted that Russian forces …

‘Snake Oil’  —  Debunking three ‘truths’ about offshore drilling  —  THE NATURAL Resources Defense Council Action Fund has taken out full-page ads in this newspaper and others to decry offshore drilling for oil as “George W. Bush's Gasoline Price Elixir” that is “100% Snake Oil.”

Pelosi indicates openness to offshore drilling vote  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday night dropped her staunch opposition to a vote on offshore oil drilling in the House.  —  Republicans, reacting to high gas prices, have demanded a vote on additional oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf …

Harmony and the Dream  —  The world can be divided in many ways — rich and poor, democratic and authoritarian — but one of the most striking is the divide between the societies with an individualist mentality and the ones with a collectivist mentality.  —  This is a divide that goes deeper …

In a Changing Corner of Pa., a Glimpse of Obama's Age Problem  —  LANCASTER, Pa. — When Gene Rutherford, 65, tries to make sense of the meteoric rise of Barack Obama, and the rampant enthusiasm for him among younger Americans, he thinks of the local mall, where as director of operations he often deals with teenagers.

Edwards Took Mistress on 2006 Presidential Announcement Tour  —  Well, you gotta give him one thing: the man has chutzpah.  —  Photographs distributed by wire services and posted online by technology blogger Robert Scoble show that former North Carolina senator John Edwards took …

Indiana Senator Offers Obama Risks and Rewards  —  WASHINGTON — As the Senate debate on the use of force against Iraq neared its climax in October 2002, Senator John McCain turned on the floor to Senator Evan Bayh to ask what had led him to take such “a visible, as well as important” …

“99 Percent”  —  The National Enquirer promises more; from Larry King last night: … When something like this happens, I really don't understand why the guy doesn't just get out of the picture.  You made a mistake.  It's a bummer for you — and maybe even cruel that it's come out, but it has.

Negative ads: They really do work  —  Clever negative advertising works.  That is reality.  —  The tactic meets with media and pundit disapproval and spawns accusations of negativity, but the reality is that a clever negative ad can be devastatingly effective.

Enthusiasm gap plagues GOP convention  —  While excitement is building for a Democratic Party convention capped by Barack Obama's historic acceptance speech before a sold-out, 75,000-seat football stadium, the GOP convention the following week is shaping up to be a considerably more staid affair …

New McCain Web Ad: “Hot Chicks Dig Obama”  —  The latest McCain Web ad takes the “Celeb” tag to a whole new low — it proclaims that “Hot chicks dig Obama”:  —  “We know he doesn't have much experience, and isn't ready to lead, but that doesn't mean he isn't dreamy,” says the announcer …

Jim Leach endorsing Obama  —  According to a source in the Obama campaign, former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach — a Republican — will be endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama this morning.  Leach, as you may recall, lost his bid for re-election in 2006 after three decades …

Target Obama: Why The Press Must Fact-Check Campaign Claims  —  What is the responsibility of reporters, editors and publishers when a candidate is the target of a campaign of attack and personal destruction employing the systematic use of lies, smears, innuendo and character assassination?

Penn in December 2007 on Plan for Two-Way Race Against Obama: “Release the Tapes”  —  In a December 30, 2007 memo written on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, Mark Penn writes to his fellow Clinton staffers that after the caucuses, if Obama “is riding a high we will have to take him down.”

Use of Iraq Contractors Costs Billions, Report Says  —  WASHINGTON — The United States this year will have spent $100 billion on contractors in Iraq since the invasion in 2003, a milestone that reflects the Bush administration's unprecedented level of dependence on private firms for help in the war …