Lawmakers Reach Deal To Expand Surveillance  —  WASHINGTON — After more than a year of partisan acrimony over government surveillance powers, Democratic and Republican leaders have agreed to a bipartisan deal that would be the most sweeping rewrite of spy powers in three decades.

Obama to Break Promise, Opt Out of Public Financing for General Election  —  In a web video to supporters — “the people who built this movement from the bottom up” — Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, announced this morning that he will not enter into the public financing system, despite a previous pledge to do so.

Commentary - Bank of America PAC money behind Dodd's Countrywide loan  —  WASHINGTON (Map, News) - “We call it the ‘Bank of America bill on steroids.’” A House staffer told me that, demanding anonymity, but speaking on behalf of aides to GOP members of the House Financial Services Committee.

Obama: ‘Country I Love’  —  This patriotic ad, in which Obama says he was raised with “values straight from the Kansas heartland,” is a reminder of the resources Obama will be able to put behind telling his own story his way, centered on the “deep and abiding faith in the country I love.”

Bombshell: House Democrats Call for Government Takeover of Oil Refineries  —  Should the Federal Government Run the Entire Oil Industry?  Senior Dem Says: “To Me, That Sounds Like a Very Good Idea”  —  Two weeks ago, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) shocked many observers when she admitted …

Deals With Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back  —  BAGHDAD — Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

Sue OPEC  —  THE president of the United States has the power to attack, and perhaps destroy, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the illegal cartel that has driven the price of oil over $130 per barrel.  This can be accomplished without invasion or bombing.  No special legislation is needed.

In with the Old  —  Barack Obama has never been shy about comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln.  He did so when he announced his candidacy at the Illinois state capitol, where both he and Lincoln served in the legislature.  “The life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer tells us …

Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High  —  As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies—more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year.  Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip.  Others blamed hit movies like Juno …

Lieberman's Democratic ties frayed  —  WASHINGTON — Eight years after being nominated for vice president at an exuberant Democratic convention, Joe Lieberman describes himself as so estranged from the party over the Iraq war and national security policy that he is committed to siding …