Documents contradict Gonzales' testimony  —  WASHINGTON - Documents show that eight congressional leaders were briefed about the Bush administration's terrorist surveillance program on the eve of its expiration in 2004, contradicting sworn Senate testimony this week by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Protester removed from Fred Thompson event  —  HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) - A woman screaming "you're not a real conservative, sir" was removed by police from a welcoming reception for likely GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson Wednesday morning.  A second protester was also taken from the room.

As regular readers...  IMPEACHMENT?  —  As regular readers of this site know, I've always been against the movement to impeach President Bush.  I take this position not because he hasn't done plenty to merit it.  My reasons are practical.  Minor reasons are that it's late in the president's term …

You are what you blog  —  A DNC apologist last night accused Bill O'Reilly of cherry-picking foul-language comments and hateful comments left at the Daily Kos web site.  The DNC guy may have had a better case if Kos himself could make a point without resorting to profanity.

Exclusive First Read: Obama hits Clinton - harder  —  From NBC's Andrea Mitchell  —  Sen. Obama has ESCALATED his criticism of Hillary Clinton — taking it to political defcon three — in an exclusive on-camera interview with NBC News.  —  It is a lot tougher than what he said in the debate …

Fired Colo. professor sues university  —  DENVER - A professor who was fired after comparing some Sept. 11 victims to a Nazi sued the school Wednesday, saying officials retaliated against him for exercising his right to free speech.  —  Ward Churchill was ousted by the University …

While Real Bullets Fly, Movies Bring War Home  —  LOS ANGELES, July 25 — On a night four years ago, five soldiers back from three months in Iraq went drinking at a Hooters restaurant and a topless bar near Fort Benning, Ga.  —  Before the night was over, one of them, Specialist Richard R. Davis …

Newt flirts with Thompson  —  Newt Gingrich's long, slow striptease over whether he will seek the presidency in 2008 looks like it might come to an unexpected conclusion: a date with Fred Thompson.  —  Publicly, Gingrich has been sending signals making clear that a presidential candidacy for him is becoming less likely.

A STATEMENT FROM SCOTT THOMAS BEAUCHAMP:  —  As we've noted in this space, some have questioned details that appeared in the Diarist "Shock Troops," published under the pseudonym Scott Thomas.  According to Major Kirk Luedeke, a public affairs officer at Forward Operating Base Falcon …

Edwards talks issues, borrows salve on RAGBRAI  —  Dumont, Ia.  — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards squeezed into a pair of Spandex bike shorts today and pedaled on the RAGBRAI route with champion cyclist Lance Armstrong.  —  After riding from just north of Dumont to Kesley …

The Black Trial: The human drama the jury didn't see  —  Had Black taken the stand, he could have shown the jury a man in full, warts and all  —  Just before the case went to the jury, Conrad Black's two lead attorneys sent him a demand for an additional million bucks each.