by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both Washington-related stories.

Many Republicans oppose Sen. John McCain because of his tendency to buck conservative orthodoxy on a range of issues, but many of his critics in the party are likely to rally around him if he becomes the party's nominee.

Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, fought fiercely to win the Florida Primary on Tuesday as they looked to gain momentum heading into Super Tuesday next week.

The Democratic presidential candidates took their campaigns national as they tried to hit as many states as possible before Super Tuesday as they chased after convention delegates.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of today's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Congressional Budget Office said the nation's budget deficit will increase to $250 billion this fiscal year, after three years of decline, because of the slowing economy. And that was before at least $100 million from the economic stimulus package now being discussed by the President Bush and Congress.

U.S. financial markets continued to slide even after Tuesday's surprise interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve as recession fears continued to dog the markets.

Senior House leaders met with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Wednesday morning as the Bush Administration and congressional leaders tried to work out the details on an economic stimulus plan.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-relared stories.

The Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, surprising many observers by not waiting till its regular next week to make the move, and acting amid global worries that a recession in the U.S. economy could slow the world's economies, concerns that have sent the world's financial markets into a tailspin.

U.S. financial markets plunged sharply immediately upon opening this morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 400 points after opening, amid rising anxieties that the U.S. economy is either in or about to enter a recession.

The Democratic presidential candidates had their fiercest face-to-face exchange yet in a debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C. in which both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama questioned each other's integrity as John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator, tried to stay above the fray.

The Republican presidential prospects descended on Florida whose primary is just a week away and where a win would give a huge boost to any of several campaigns and a loss would likely doom at least one, that of Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, who has staked his entire effort on winning that state.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

President Bush was expected to lay out an economic stimulus plan Friday which is likely to include tax rebates and other methods of getting cash into consumers' hands, a concept endorsed by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who told lawmakers Thursday they needed to act quickly if they were to keep the wobbly economy from declining further.

For a state that likes to project an image of gentility and southern charm, South Carolina hosts some of the nastiest political campaigns in the U.S., especially among Republicans, with fliers and phone calls to voters that contain scurrilous rumors against the candidates, and charges and countercharges of responsibility.

A surge in citizenship applications has created a huge backlog, as immigration activists push to get more legal immigrants to become citizens in order to increase the pro-immigration voting block and applicants try to get in before rising application fees rise even more.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress he would support an economic stimulus to boost the ailing economy so long as it was temporary, putting him at odds with some Republicans who are using the current slowdown to argue for making President Bush's tax cuts permanent.

South Carolina's Republican voters were showing little enthusiasm for their field of candidates just before Saturday's primary with the three segments of the state's conservative voters—fiscal, social and national security conservatives—having different candidates who appeal to them.

Housing starts in 2007 fell to their lowest level in 27 years because of the crisis in the home mortgage sector and the slowing economy and many economists believed that the housing market had yet to reach bottom.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Mitt Romney won the Michigan Republican Primary convincingly over Sen. John McCain and Mike Huckabee, giving Romney, who was born in the state his first big win and further scrambling the race for the presidential nomination.

The top three Democratic presidential candidates met for a mostly congenial debate in Las Vegas, the first time where only they were on the stage. They tried to put controversies over the use of race in the campaign behind them.

Saudi leaders rejected President Bush's plea that the oil kingdom produce more oil in order to ease price pressures, apparently turning a deaf ear to the president's argument that high oil prices threatened the world's economies.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Pakistan's top military intelligence agency has lost control of some of the Islamic militant groups it first assisted in the 1980s as proxies against India and in Afghanistan, according to some of its former officials and others who lament that the militants are now targeting the government that once aided them.

Iraq's foreign minister said his nation would need help to defend its sovereignty from outside aggressors for at least a decade, indicating the need for a U.S. military presence for significantly longer than U.S. or Iraqi officials had openly stated before.

About 3,200 Marines were told to prepare for a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan as the U.S. tries to increase its troop strength to counter Taliban efforts not and the anticipated spring offensive by the extremist Islamic group.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi, President Bush criticized Iran and asked Arab states in the Persian Gulf region to stand with the U.S. against the Persian nation's nuclear aspirations and its interference in the region while promising that the U.S. understood the desire of peoples in the Mideast for Justice.

As the race for the presidential nomination has moved into states with more diverse population, like South Carolina, the issues of race, poverty and education have moved to the fore.

Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spent Sunday sparring over the comments made by the Clinton that seemed to many to dismiss the contributions of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and disagreeing over Obama's anti-war credentials.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Republican presidential candidates held a mostly polite debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in which the hottest action consisted of Fred Thompson, the former senator from Tennessee, hitting Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, who has polled well in the important southern primary state, as Thompson tried to peel away Huckabee's conservative support.

With the presidential campaign moving to larger states like Michigan, gone are the living-room meet-and-greets as Republican candidates make quick stops on airport tarmacs around the state and rely on TV ads in the run-up to next week's Michigan primary.

Bank of America said it would buy, for $4 billion in stock Countrywide Financial, the troubled lender and nation's largest mortgage lender, buffeted by its heavy reliance on sub-prime mortgages and other unconventional home loan products.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of the some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Projections by the World Health Organization and Iraqi government place the civilian death toll in Iraq in the three years following the 2003 U.S. invasion at 151,000, far less than the 600,000 reported in a controversial study that appeared in 2006 in the Lancet medical journal.

U.S. military and civilian officials are increasingly giving the Iraqis the space to come up with Iraqi solutions to their problems instead of U.S.-imposed answers with some observers saying it reflected a new realism in the U.S. while critics said it actually was a cynical way of saying that the U.S. was willing to allow what previously wasn't tolerated like sectarianism and corruption.

As U.S. and Iraqi forces launched an operation to flush al Qaeda insurgents from new strongholds, six U.S. soldiers were killed when a booby trapped house exploded, the worst single-day loss of American servicemembers in two months.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Senator Hillary Clinton won the Democratic New Hampshire Primary, reviving her campaign, upending the polls which forecast her losing badly and apparently stopping the momentum of Sen. Barack Obama who won the Iowa caucuses only days before.

Sen. John McCain won the Republican New Hamphire Primary, a reprise of his 2000 victory which resurrected a campaign many experts had given up for dead last year and handing Mitt Romney a defeat in a state neighboring Massachusetts where Romney had been governor.

While the polls done of New Hampshire voters accurately captured the state of the Republican presidential race in the Granite State, their marked inaccuracy on the Democratic side is likely to refuel a debate over the how accurate polls can be in political races that pit an African-American against a white candidate.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared to be setting the stage for a defeat in New Hampshire, saying that Sen. John McCain had won the Republican primary handily in that state eight years ago and had a great in-state network. But Romney seemed bent on underplaying the great investment he made in the state and the advantages he had as the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts.

As Sen. Barack Obama's maintained momentum and a double-digit lead in the polls with New Hampshire voters, Sen. Hillary Clinton drew attention for a rare public display of emotion at one campaign stop, then lit into her Illinois rival for the Democratic nomination at another, later appearance, seeking to contrast her experience with his.

The campaigns were looking beyond New Hampshire as they sensed that Super Tuesday on Feb. 5 when numerous states, including New York and California, hold their primaries would be the critical day that decides the nominations.

by Frank James

A quick quided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both Washington-related stories.

The previous frontrunners in New Hampshire, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. Hillary Clinton, are asking voters there to decide with their heads, not their hearts, in the hopes of stemming the surges of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain.

Former President Bill Clinton remains popular in New Hampshire and is campaigning hard on his wife's behalf there but the state has changed since his legendary second-place showing in the Granite State.

Romney and McCain heatedly disagreed during a Sunday debate in which McCain essentially called Romney a liar for describing as amnesty the senator's immigration position.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Democrat Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, won their respective Iowa caucuses by decisive margins, riding the desire for change and dealing significant blows to Democrat Sen. Hillary Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney who were expected to do much better.

Obama's victory was a vindication of his strategy to keep pushing his message of change, even when some in his own camp were advocating that he follow conventional political strategy and go negative in an effort to close the distance between himself and the front runner, Sen. Hillary Clinton. It was also showed the success in his effort to energize young and independent voters.

Mike Huckabee won as many Republican Iowa caucus goers rejected the presumptive power of big money and a large political operation represented by Mitt Romney though the discomfort of evangelical Christians appeared to play a significant role too.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Hundreds of Kenyans died in continuing violence following the disputed re-election of President Mwai Kibaki while the nation's attorney general called for a probe by an independent body to examine the vote tally, Meanwhile, the opposition called off a planned protest march.

The U.S. presidential candidates traveled throughout Iowa making last minute appeals for Iowans to caucus for them tonight in the contest that kicks off the primary season as the candidates vie for their parties' nominations.

Domestic issues now occupy a greater place in voters' minds than the Iraq War, as economic anxieties have grown in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the credit crunch and signs of a slowing economy.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

A Pakistani official said his nation's parliamentary elections which had been scheduled for next week will be delayed to February because of the chaos uncertainty and disorder in the aftermath of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's murder last week.

The rules of the Iowa caucuses are so exacting, that many would-be voters, like deployed soldiers or workers with early evening shifts are unable to vote because of the lack of absentee balloting.

The Iowa caucuses are loved and hated by politicians because of the odd requirements that come with it, like finding babysitting for voters or getting agreeable snacks for those who turn out.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The presidential candidates spent the last weekend before Thursday's Iowa caucuses criss-crossing the state making their closing arguments to voters as they tried to position themselves to either win or come close in the first vote that actually matters.

The presidential candidates on both sides are talking a lot about their personal religious faith to an unprecedented degree, sensing that voters, especially in Iowa where the electorate is particularly religious, want to hear candidates talk about how God factors in their lives.

The Pakistani government appeared set to delay national elections by several weeks following last week's murder of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto although opposition parties said they wanted the vote to occur on Jan. 8 as scheduled. Meanwhile, her 19-year old college student son Bilawal was named chairman of her party but her husband will effectively lead the party.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Violent protests spread throughout Pakistan as the body of Benazir Bhutto, the slain popular opposition leader and former prime minister was laid to rest after her assassination Thursday and the government maintained that elections would still be held Jan. 8.

Bhutto's death leaves the Bush Administration with very limited policy options on how to move forward with a nation that has become its key ally in the fight against terrorism, leaving President Pervez Musharraf as perhaps the only hope to maintain any remaining stability.

Bhutto was a Western-schooled leader who carried herself like royalty but was extremely accessible, pressing the flesh with her supporters and making herself readily available to the media because she recognized its importance in getting out her message.

by Frank James

A quick, guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Christmas retail sales fell short of expectations, meaning post-Christmas shoppers would be greeted with excellent discounts but adding to worries about what slowing consumer spending could mean for the economy.

The housing market's woes and slowing economy have led state and local governments to reduce their budgets for next year.

The ethanol boom has been a mixed blessing, providing high incomes to farmers in the cornbelt but have also contributed to high consumer prices there and elsewhere and the nation's obesity problem.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Experts are worried that rising credit-card debt delinquencies are signaling worse to come in the credit crunch as the aftershocks of the subprime mortgage crisis spread.

Lawmakers around the country are trying to constrain high real-estate property taxes which rose greatly during the housing boom but are declining more slowly than housing prices.

Central Intelligence Agency officials destroyed the interrogation videotapes involving high-value al Qaeda detainees, even after the then-CIA director warned against it, because they believed they would be abandoned by the nation's political leadership if the tapes ever became public.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke is being criticized for being too much of a consensus seeker when much stronger leadership to push through the kind of monetary policy needed to ease the credit crunch.

To the dismay of the Democrats who took control of Congress in January, President Bush has used his remaining power effectively to thwart some of the Democrats' ket priorities, including significant troop withdrawals from Iraq, certain new taxes and renewal of a children's health program, surprising congressional Republicans as well.

U.S. troops in Iraq are attempting to cope with new rules requiring them to assume that approaching Iraqi cars are friendly, fearing if violence levels start to rise again, the new tack will make them vulnerable.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both Washington-related stories.

Congress averted a tax hike on 21 million middle-class taxpayers who had faced being hit by the controversial alternative minimum tax by passing a one-year fix.

The Environmental Protection Agency said California and 16 other states can't enforce their own automobile carbon dioxide emissions standards, saying they were pre-empted by federal rules and made irrelevant by the enactment of new energy legislation.

Iraqi refugees returning home are faced with no housing and no jobs and a government that seems increasingly incapable of tending to their needs.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The House passed a landmark energy bill, scheduled to be signed by President Bush this morning, which would, among other things, raise auto fuel efficiency standards for the first time in 32 years, sharply increase the use of ethanol and phase out incandescent lightbulbs.

The strategy that has worked to make Iraq safer, increasing security in neighborhoods, which has led to Iraqis helping U.S. and Iraqi forces to find insurgents and their bomb-making networks and materiel, was rejected for years by important U.S. decision-makers.

The Bush Administration won its showdown with the Senate over spending, with the Senate approving a $555 billion spending package that included $70 billion in unrestricted funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, though some Republicans said the legislation contained too much spending and pork.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Washington regulators and policymakers, notably the Federal Reserve Board, for years did little to rein in the excesses in subprime-lending that helped fuel the housing bubble even though they were repeatedly warned of the potential for economic disaster.

U.S. efforts to isolate Iran were set back greatly by Russia's delivery of enriched uranium to an Iranian nuclear power plant although Russia said if had received assurances that the nuclear fuel would only be used for energy and would be monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran is still providing weapons and training to insurgents in Iraq, according to a Pentagon report, fueling a debate as to whether Iran is helping or hindering the recent decline of violence in Iraq.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Scores of Major League Baseball players, including some of the sports biggest names, were implicated of illegal steroid use in a massive report stemming from the former Sen. George Mitchell's probe into the widespread use of the performance-enhancement chemicals. Congressional hearings have been scheduled.

British investigators believe the failed bombing plots in London and Glasgow of earlier this year were hatched by al Qaeda in Iraq.

A new Arizona law that imposes tough penalties on employers caught hiring illegal immigrants is pitting immigration hardliners and the businesses who say they need that labor to survive.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Eight veterans charities actually spent less that a third of the money the public donated to help vets of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars on the returning members of the military, according to a watchdog group.

With their attempts to drive the agenda on the Iraq War and domestic issues frequently thwarted by President Bush and Republican lawmakers, the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate have taken to blaming each other for their inability to get more accomplished.

The Federal Reserve Board tried to thaw the credit freeze by saying it would extend $40 billion in loans to U.S. banks while central banks in Europe agreed to take their own steps to improve short-term lending which has been greatly reduced by the fallout of from the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Federal Reserve Board cut key interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, a demonstration of its concern over the continuing fallout on the economy from the mortgage and credit crisis which has increased the chance of a recession but many in the financial markets were disappointed the cut wasn't larger.

The U.S. and Chinese reached a food safety agreement to allow American inspectors into Chinese factories. Members of Congress welcomed the agreement but criticized it for not going far enough, noting that it did nothing to increase the safety of Chinese-made toys and other consumer goods.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates rebuked the U.S.'s NATO allies for failing to provide Afghanistan with the promised military assistance, allowing the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters to stage a comeback.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Two bombings killed at least 45 in the Algerian capital of Algiers today, with one explosion apparently targeting the U.N. while another was near the nation's constitutional courts. A group linked to al Qaeda immediately came under suspicion.

The Supreme Court gave federal judges more flexibility in sentencing drug offenders, particularly those whose convictions involve crack cocaine who have generally received stiffer penalties than other cocaine offenders, resulting in minorities receiving longer sentences.

A former CIA agent said that waterboarding resulted in gaining vital intelligence information from Abu Zubaida, the first high-ranking al Qaeda member captured after 9/11, that likely saved lives but that he now regards the technique as torture.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The U.S. mortgage crisis hasn't yet topped the magnitude of the savings and loan meltdown or the tech-bubble bust but is likely to take as long or longer to work through because of the complexity of the mortgage-backed securities.

The surge in U.S. troops has reduced violence in Iraq but the country appears more split along sectarian lines than ever with tribes, parties and militias often playing a greater role than the mostly ineffectual national government.

A backlog in Social Security disability cases has some applicants waiting as long as three years for a decision and the plan to hire more judges to hear the claims is stalled because of the standoff between Congress and President Bush over domestic spending.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both Washington-related stories.

The Central Intelligence Agency admitted that in 2005 it destroyed videotapes of harsh interrogations by its employees of terrorist suspects in its secret detention program at a time when those activities had come under increased scrutiny.

President Bush unveiled a modest plan to help a fraction of the homeowners struggling to make payments on their subprime mortgage loans but the plan was criticized as too little, too late by some critics as well as being unfair to those home owners who were making their payments.

Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who is a Republican presidential candidate, gave a widely watched speech in which he sought to assure evangelical Christians and other voters that, as president he would not put his Mormon faith before his constitutional duties, and that he shared the same values as non-Mormons.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

President Bush was expected to announce an agreement between major banks and the Bush Administration to freeze for five years low teaser interest-rates for some financially stressed homeowners with sub-prime mortgages.

The U.S.'s top U.S. military commanders in Iraq want to avoid a rapid drawdown of their military forces since they fear the gains they've made in reducing violence would be reversed.

Access to detailed notes from an Iranian-military meeting were central to the U.S. intelligence agencies' revised conclusion that Iran stopped actively working on building nuclear weapons in 2003.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

President Bush insisted that Iran was still a threat to develop nuclear weapons even though U.S. intelligence analysts determined that Iran likely stopped its efforts to make such weapons in 2003.

The new intelligence estimate on Iran scrambles many political equations, with China and European nations less likely to agree to added sanctions on Teheran while, in domestic politics, it could prove troublesome for Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate who has taken the hardest line against Iran.

Diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran is more likely now that the U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Iran probably stopped aggressively working towards creating deployable nuclear weapons.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

In a surprising conclusion, the nation's intelligence services said Iran stopped actively pursuing nuclear weapons in 2003, a finding that evidently knocked the legs out from under Bush Administration efforts to portray the Islamist nation as a growing threat.

News photos taken during a media visit to the Iranian facility at Natanz contributed to U.S. intelligence analysts' determination that Iran hadn't advanced its efforts far enough to create working nuclear weapons in the near term.

The economy has become a leading issue for many voters as the mortgage and credit crunch, falling real incomes, crushing debt levels and the fear of recession loom larger for many households.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The landslide victory enjoyed by the party of Russian President Vladimir Putin's in Sunday's elections raised questions about Russia's future, such as who would be in charge of the nation next year since the Russian leader has indicated that he intends to still wield power even though term limits will force him to leave the presidency.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has clearly gained momentum lately, taking the lead in polls in Iowa against other Republicans competing for the presidential nomination. But even if he should win Iowa, large doubts remain about his ability to capitalize on success there because of the accelerated primary schedule and the need for vast sums of money which he doesn't have.

In an effort to try and stop the advance of Sen. Barack Obama in Iowa polls, the campaign of presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton's is increasingly trying to cast doubts about his truthfulness and, ultimately, his character.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Bush Administration and some of the nation's largest banks are near an agreement that would temporarily freeze interest rates on some home-mortgage loans, a pact that could buoy both two million homeowners whose adjustable-rate loans are soon due to reset to higher rates, and the financial markets.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke was the latest central bank official to indicate that more interest cuts could be ahead as concerns grow that turmoil in the financial markets related to the subprime-mortage mess and resulting credit crunch could further harm the economy.

Iraq doesn't have a plan to reintegrate returning refugees into neighborhoods which is seen as essential if Iraq is to avoid renewed sectarian violence.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Republican presidential hopefuls had often feisty exchanges in their CNN/You Tube debate in St. Petersburg, Fla. whose tension betrayed the high stakes of the meeting with the first casting of real votes just slightly over a month away.

The accelerating pace of the U.S. program to embrace Sunnis in Iraq has Iraq's Shiite-led government increasingly worried that the Americans are creating an empowered Sunni force that will threaten the government once the U.S. disengages from that country.

The Marine Corps's top general has proposed that Marines being pulled from Iraq be redeployed to Afghanistan where the Taliban and al Qaeda have been resurgent. But his proposal is meeting with Pentagon resistance.

The credit being provided by lenders to U.S. companies is tightening severely and at a rate not seen in decades, raising concerns of a possible recession.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Israel and Palestinian leaders agreed to hold peace talks in the coming year in an attempt to reach a comprehensive settlement next year but large challenges lay ahead as it was expected that extremists on both sides would try to derail any progress.

While it didn't attend the meeting, Iran's growing importance in the Middle East, and the Islamic radicals it supports, was a major concern for Israel and the Arab state participants in Annapolis.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf officially relinquished his post as military chief but retained ultimate power in the nation as its civilian head of government.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

President Bush was making a late-term bid for Middle East peace between Israel, the Palestinians and the Jewish state's Arab neighbors but doubts abounded over any there being any significant results from the discussions in Annapolis, Md.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for more spending by the nation on the State Department to further diplomacy and the use of the U.S.' "soft power."

Sharply lower interest rates on bonds indicated that investors expected the Federal Reserve Board to further cut short-term interest rates next year in response to concerns the economy could be sliding into recession.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Syria's decision to attend the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Md. raised hopes for progress in soothing tensions in the region between Arab nations and Israel.

Recession fears are rising, hitting the financial markets hard, even as the nation's leading economists say they don't see economic conditions getting that bad.

The back and forth between Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney in New Hampshire is getting more nasty as the presidential campaigns of both Republican candidates see winning that early state as increasingly important.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Freddie Mac, one of the major mortgage-financing companies, was hit hard by the mortgage crisis, saying its third quarter loss widened to $2 billion.

The sense of being under siege lessened for Baghdad residents as the improved security environment and reduced sectarian violence allowed Iraqis to venture outdoors in ways they haven't been able to do in more than a year.

U.S. military commanders are saying Iraqi insurgents are signing up to kill Americans less for ideology than for cash which makes it more possible that the U.S. can peel them away from the insurgency with the right inducements.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The U.S. military is hoping to enlist Pakistani tribes in the battle against al Qaeda.

The Pakistani supreme court that was recently reshuffled by President Perviz Musharraf dismissed legal challenges to his continued rule, setting the stage for him to serve another term as a civilian president.

The number of attacks in Iraq has fallen to the level they were at in February 2006 before the bombing of an important Shiite mosque in Samarra led to a worsening of sectarian violence.

by Frank James

A three-judge panel of the federal appeals court in San Francisco rejected the Bush Administration's fuel-economy standards for trucks, including SUVs, saying they weren't tough enough and that the administration didn't fully take into account in the rules the impact of greenhouse gases in global warming.

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, announced his retirement from Congress, saying his greatest regret was the growing incivility in the House.

Sen. Hillary Clinton fended off attacks from her Democratic rivals for the party's presidential nomination, apparently regaining her forward momentum during a debate in Las Vegas.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

U.S. officials are preparing for a Pakistani future which may not include strongman President Pervez Musharraf who has made his situation more tenuous by declaring emergency rule.

While progress has been made in slowing the violence in Iraq, Iraqi politicians still have failed to make significant political progress, leading top U.S. military commanders to say that is now the biggest threat to Iraq's future, moreso than the insurgency and al Qaeda.

The House approved a $50 billion spending bill for Iraq, far less than President Bush had requested, and with a timetable for Bush to withdraw most of the troops by the end of next year. But the bill is likely to die in the Senate.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has determined no provocation occurred for the killings of 14 Iraqi civilians by private security guards working for Blackwater Worldwide to protect a State Department convoy in September.

Baghdad residents are taking advantage of the marked decline in car bombings and sectarian violence, with daily activities like shopping, weddings and dining outdoors increasingly giving the city a more normal feel but due in part to blast walls and the sectarian cleansing that has occurred.

The Iraq War has left many U.S. troops blinded from the mortars, grenades and improvised explosive devices that insurgents have used to inflict damage.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Tensions increased in Pakistan as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto demanded for the first time that President Pervez Musharraf step down completely as head of the Pakistani government and she said she would not serve in any power-sharing arrangement with him.

The number of roadside bombs in Iraq has fallen significantly since the start of the year which may be the result of the discovery by U.S. military units of a number of ammunition caches.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission is considering reducing the minimum prison sentence for crack cocaine convictions which would make thousands of federal prisoners eligible for release and narrow the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Shiite-led Iraqi government is resisting U.S. efforts to organize mostly Sunni fighters into the Iraqi police and army, frustrating U.S. plans to further stabilize Iraq.

The flow of so-called soft money appears to be accelerating through a loophole in federal campaign-finance laws to be spent in the 2008 presidential race on television ads by independent groups like the one currently running ads in South Carolina that say favorable things about Sen. John McCain.

An Iraqi cab driver in Baghdad was killed by a Dyncorp private-security guard protecting a convoy in a shooting that witnesses said was unprovoked, creating an incident reminiscent of the shootings of civilians by Blackwater Worldwide employees.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Pakistani security forces surrounded the home of former prime minister and political opponent Benazir Bhutto, preventing her from leading a planned rally, and reportedly arrested 5,000 members of her political party, increasing tensions in the country as it neared the end of its first week under the emergency rule declared by President Musharraf.

The Senate approved former federal judge Michael Mukasey late Thursday evening to be the attorney general with all but six Democrats voting against him because of his vagueness on whether waterboarding is torture. His swearing in to lead the Justice Department could come as soon as today.

The world is experiencing an oil shock different than those in the past which were caused by supply interruptions while the current trend of sharply rising oil prices is caused by dramatically higher global demand.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The State Department performed only a perfunctory probe of the apparently unprovoked February 2007 shootings by a Blackwater Worldwide sniper of Iraqis guarding a building in Baghdad, demonstrating how the agency essentially looked the other way in fatal incidents let involving the controversial private-security contractor.

The Internet has been a powerful tool in helping presidential candidates raise staggering sums of money but it also has been their bane as well, allowing candidates' opponents to spread often venomous attacks much more quickly and widely than ever.

Visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared to successfully start the rebuilding of the long-time U.S. ally's relationships with American leaders, connections that were frayed over the Iraq War, with a speech to a joint session of Congress and an evidently easy rapport with President Bush.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of the some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Democrats won important races in Kentucky and Virginia, regaining the governorship in the former and the state senate in the latter while Gov. Haley Barbour was reelected in Mississippi.

A majority of House Republicans joined Democrats to override President Bush's veto of the very popular water resources bill, a victory for Democrats and a blow to the White House which has been largely able to count on GOP unity until now to sustain presidential vetoes.

House Republicans nearly forced a floor debate and vote on Rep. Dennis Kucinich's resolution calling for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney, a situation House Democratic leaders had hoped to avoid.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Pakistan crisis worsened as security forces beat and arrested lawyers protesting President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule and his firing of the supreme court's chief justice.

Musharraf has attempted to justify his imposition of emergency rule as necessary for his fight against Muslim extremists but his action may have only contributed to his nation's instability.

Responding to consumer worries over the safety of imported food and products, the White House is expected to announce a package of regulatory agency reforms that it said would strengthen the federal government's oversight of such products by emphasizing prevention but critics said the Bush Administration's planned changes didn't go far enough.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Pakistani strongman, President Pervez Musharraf, continued to tighten his grip on power by arresting his political opponents and delaying elections, all during the same weekend in which he declared emergency rule and sacked the chief justice of the nation's Supreme Court which appeared about to deliver an anti-Musharraf ruling .

The Bush Administration indicated that it would continue its aid to the Pakistani government despite Musharraf's anti-democratic actions.

Experts said no conclusive evidence exists that Iran has a nuclear-weapons development program despite President Bush's and Vice President Cheney's claims to the contrary, and there are even disagreements within the administration about the status of Iranian efforts.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Violence levels in Iraq that have fallen to levels not seen since the bombing of an important Shiite mosque in 2006 have both U.S. commanders and Iraqis wondering if Iraq has really turned the corner on or if the present period is the eye of the storm.

The acting head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission head took numerous trips, as did her predecessor, that were paid for by lobbying groups and lawyers associated with the same industries whose products the CPSC is supposed to monitor.

The battles between Islamic militants and the military in Pakistan have, for the first time, moved from the ungoverned tribal areas into more populated places, raising fears that the problem may be getting out of control.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Even though the presidential candidates mostly ignore the issue, experts said the U.S. fiscal situation threatens to damage the nation's economy and superpower status, with the looming crisis of having to manage the growing health-care needs of the Baby Boom generation presenting the greatest challenge.

Michael Mukasey's refusal so far to condemn outright as torture the harsh interrogation technique known as waterboarding appeared to threaten his nomination as attorney general although it was unclear whether key Senate Democrats would abandon him.

While Sen. Hillary Clinton has mostly steered clear of the issue of Social Security reform, several other Democratic presidential candidates have offered plans to bolster the program, including raising taxes on the wealthy.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Supreme Court stopped an execution in Mississippi, the strongest indication yet that the court intends to halt all such ultimate sanctions until it decides a lethal injection case which is scheduled to be argued in January.

The U.S. military will oversee private-security contractors in Iraq as it attempts to tighten control over firms like Blackwater USA in order to avoid further unwarranted violence against Iraqi civilians like the killings of at least 17 Iraqis in September.

Having already brutally driven out many Baghdad Sunnis and taken over their neighborhoods, businesses and municipal services, Shiites are seeking to hold onto their gains, moving the civil war in Iraq into a less outwardly violent phase.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Wall Street is expecting the Federal Reserve Board to further cut the federal funds rate, the amount banks charge each other for overnight loans, by a quarter point at the board's meeting this week.

State Department investigators apparently exceeded their authority by offering limited immunity to Blackwater USA guards who were interviewed as part of the agency's probe into the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians by private security guards working as hired guns in Baghdad for the department.

Foreign fighters in Afghanistan are a growing problem for coalition forces in Afghanistan with the foreigners being more violent and extremist than the Taliban.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Bush Administration's actions on Darfur have fallen short of its promises to act aggressively to help end what it has called a genocide and haven't mirrored the passion President Bush has expressed on the issue.

Iran has responded to economic and financial sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the West by turning to China and elsewhere in Asia, using its oil to strike deals, all of which takes the sting out of American attempts to punish the country for seeking nuclear weapons.

In a bid to slow the increase in cable rates, the Federal Communications Commission was poised to end the practice of allowing any single cable company from monopolizing service provided to an individual apartment building.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Charles Rangel unveiled a tax-reform package that would cost $1.3 trillion and which he said would be more equitable by lowering taxes for 90 million Americans while increasing them on the wealthiest. Republicans responded by labeling it the largest tax increase ever.

The Bush Administration introduced financial sanctions against Iran's military which it said supported terrorism, a reflection of American frustrations with other nations' reluctance to crack down on alleged Iranian ambitions for nuclear weapons and meddling throughout the Middle East.

Wild fires continued to burn in Southern California but firefighters got an assist from weakening winds as President Bush visited the affected region promising continued federal support as he tried to put to rest the specter of his administration's Hurricane Katrina response.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

As the Santa Ana winds began to slow, firefighters began to gain control of some of the fires in the southern California with estimates of the insurance costs of the destruction place at over $ 1 billion.

Thousands since 2000 have moved into areas of California at the highest risk of wildfires, raising questions about development.

In an unprecedented move, the U.S. plans to introduce a package of unilateral financial sanctions against Iran's military organizations as state-sponsors of terror, marking the first time the U.S. has so designated another nation's military.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Nearly a million people were evacuated and more than a thousand homes destroyed by the southern California wildfires as the White House ordered federal officials and assets to the area and announced that President Bush would visit the stricken area Thursday, in an effort to not repeat the mistakes that followed Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, there were questions about the region's preparedness.

The Iraq and Afghanistan wars may cost taxpayers as much as $2.4 trillion by the end of the decade or $8,000 for each person in the country, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.

The State Department announced additional oversight for private security firms in Iraq, including the establishment of an agency "go team" to immediately visit the site of any shooting incident to establish the facts and an incident review board.

Despite recent efforts to portray himself as a fiscal conservative, President Bush is the second-biggest spender in the White House since Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s, and under some measures, an even bigger spender, according to fiscal experts.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

More than half a million people were ordered to evacuate their homes as wildfires swept through many parts of southern California, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses, leading President Bush to declare a state of emergency, allowing federal assistance to be added to state and local firefighting and related efforts.

President Bush asked for $46 billion in additional emergency spending to fund the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, bringing the total spent in both theaters since 9/11 to more than $600 billion as Democratic critics lambasted the president for his willingness to spend in Iraq and at the expense of domestic priorities.

A government audit to be released Tuesday indicated that the documentation is so bad the State Department can't account for $1.2 billion in taxpayer money paid to DynCorp International to train Iraqi police. Meanwhile another report criticized the State Department's oversight of Blackwater USA, the private-security contractor.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Tensions rose between Turkey and Iraq after Kurdish guerillas ambushed Turkish soldiers, killing at least 12 Turkish troops and mounting domestic pressure on the Turkish government to strike back.

The Republican presidential candidates attacked each other with particular fercocity, focusing their barbs on GOP frontrunner Rudy Giuliani and the candidate they view as the likely Democratic nominee, Sen. Hillary Clinton.

High demand for ships to transport commodities across the world's oceans are increasing the costs of numerous commodities like grains and iron ore, raising inflationary fears.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Scores of people in Karachi were killed when two bombs exploded near the truck carrying Benazir Bhutto, the opposition leader and former Pakistani premier, who had just returned to her native land after eight years in exile. She was safe but the attack underscored the instability of the nation that is a key ally to the U.S. in the war on terror.

President Bush's veto of the State Child Health Insurance Program was sustained in the House as the Democratic leadership in the chamber fell 13 lawmakers short of having enough votes to override the veto. House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi vowed to send another bill to the president in a matter of weeks.

As he campaigns in South Carolina, Sen. John McCain is frequently reminded of the ruthless campaign that was waged against him in 2000 on then Gov. George Bush's behalf, with South Carolinians approaching him now to apologize for the smear campaign against him.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Federal Communications Commission's chairman is circulating a proposal to relax media-ownership rules to allow one company to own a TV station and newspaper or radio station in the same market but his plan appears likely to set off a congressional firestorm as a similar plan did in 2004.

Opposition leader and former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto returned to her homeland after eight years in exile, a move that was allowed by U.S. ally in the war on terror, President Pervez Musharraf, even though her return is likely to breathe new life into the opposition.

Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he disapproved of his predecessor Alberto Gonzales's position on torture and appeared to have no real opposition to his confirmation to lead the Justice Department.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Support appears to be slipping in the House for a resolution condemning the nearly century-old Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks after the modern-day Turks warned that approving the measure could hurt the U.S.-Turkish alliance and cause Turkey to close its territory to U.S. transshipments of vital supplies to American troops in Iraq.

The U.S. finds itself in a tricky situation strategically and diplomatically in Iraq as tensions escalate between two long-time allies, Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds, with the Turks appearing poised to launch attacks across its border into northern Iraq to strike at Kurdish separatists.

The federal government is investigating several large U.S. food companies for suspected fraud and other wrongdoing in their activities to provide food to the U.S. military in Iraq.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Pentagon plans to ship supplies to U.S. troops in Iraq through Jordan and Kuwait in the event that Turkey denies the U.S. access to transshipment routes in that country in retaliation for Congress considering a resolution on the disputed Armenian genocide of nearly a century ago.

Some states have so many schools that are failing under the standards of the No Child Left Behind law that school and state officials are overwhelmed and can't possibly shutter all the schools and make all the other wholesale changes the law requires.

President Bush's choice to serve as Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, could get a relative pass from the Senate Judiciary Committee if he acknowledges his predecessor's mistakes and promises to work with Congress or he could get a harsh grilling if he takes a more combative approach in defending administration policies like warrantless surveillance and the treatment of terrorist suspects.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

President Bush has allowed many senior jobs in his administration to be filled by acting or interim officials as his presidency winds down, leaving those officials without the clout to do their jobs that comes from Senate confirmation.

An increasing number of Internet-savvy Western proponents of jihad are serving as cheerleaders for al Qaeda and other extremist Muslim groups as they try to persuade of the non-believes of the righteousness of their cause while stirring up those predisposed to such views.

U.S. military officials in Iraq believe they have seriously wounded, perhaps mortally, al Qaeda in Iraq with some wanting to declare victory though other officials say such a move would be premature, considering al Qaeda's proven ability to adapt.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Former Vice President Al Gore won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, for his work on focusing widespread attention on the issue climate warming and proposing solutions.

President Bush is scheduled to attend the ceremony at the Capitol next week at which the Dalai Lama will be awarded a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony, an event denounced in advance by the Chinese government since the religious leader symbolizes the democratic aspirations in Tibet and the fight for human rights in China.

President Bush acknowledged that many Americans now distrust global trade and promised to rekindle his free-trade agenda while also blaming the excesses of executive pay and other dubious corporate behavior for some of Americans' declining trust in that agenda.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The Army made its recruiting goals for the for the 12-month period ended in September by increasing the percentage of recruits it accepted with criminal convictions and without high school diplomas.

The Marine Corps is pushing to remove its Marines from Iraq, leaving the Army to continue operations there while the Marines would redeploy to Afghanistan.

President Bush said he wouldn't sign a new surveillance bill being considered by Congress unless it contained the kind of flexibility that's in the legislation currently in force but due to expire in February.

by Frank James

Republican presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney pointedly attacked each other over their fiscal records in their former jobs as New York's mayor and Massachusetts's governor, respectively, while Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee senator, got through his first debate relatively unscathed.

The Bush Administration is split between hawks, led by Vice President Cheney, who believe Israel had credible enough intelligence to justify its September air strike in Syria on a suspected nuclear site with North Korean ties, and those who are more skeptical, led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who also believe, unlike the hawks, that the U.S. should maintain its posture of keeping lines of communication open to North Korea and Syria.

The fight between Democrats and Republicans over the state children's health insurance program has devolved into a fracas over the 12-year old boy the Democrats used to illustrate the program's importance, and become an object lesson in the trouble that can befall real people when they become part of partisan political politics.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

Congressional Democrats, fearing they might otherwise be painted by Republicans as weak in fighting terror, appear ready to accede to the Bush Administration's request that the National Security Agency keep the warrantless surveillance powers that are due to sunset early next year.

A private company that had exploited a weakness in al Qaeda's computer security to gain access to a video by the terrorist group said al Qaeda closed the hole after U.S. government officials the company provided the video to leaked the video's existence to news organizations.

The head of a Sunni insurgent group in Iraq's Anbar Province said his fighters stopped attacking Americans for now in order to have talks with the Iraqi government and U.S. officials and that the truce's future depends on the actions of both the U.S. and the Shi'ite led government.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

U.S. officials have restarted their efforts to get the Afghan government to spray that nation's opium poppy crop, a major source of cash for the Taliban, and are finding some receptivity among Afghan officials after being resisted by the nation's president, Hamid Karzai, earlier in the year.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has become one of the greatest forces for congressional oversight as Chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission's failures allowed a dangerous tile sealer to remain on store shelves a year after the agency announced a recall.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

The House passed, with near unanimity, legislation to make private contractors accountable under U.S. law for alleged crimes committed in Iraq in reaction to reports that Blackwater USA's guards have repeatedly shot and killed Iraqi civilians.

The U.S. military reported that its investigation found that Blackwater USA security guards for the State Department were unprovoked when they opened fire last month, killing at least 14.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's most senior food-safety official acknowledged that the agency could improve by announcing recalls more quickly and said officials will begin a review of the nation's meat-packing plants to check safeguards against the e-coli bacteria.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.

President Bush vetoed legislation that would have expanded a popular children's health insurance program as Democrats and Republicans who support the bill vow to work on overriding Bush's veto.

Iraq is purchasing light arms for its police department from China, with an Iraqi official saying the U.S. forced the move by dragging its heels in delivering the needed weapons.

The Agriculture Department took 18 days to recall millions of pounds of hamburger meat potentially contaminated by e-coli bacteria made by a New Jersey processor, raising added fears about the food-safety system.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The head of controversial Blackwater USA, the private company that provides the State Department with security services defended, at a congressional hearing, his firm's actions in Iraq while Democratic lawmakers criticized his firm for not being accountable and costing too much.

A former top Justice Department lawyer told lawmakers at a hearing that aspects of the Bush Administration's warrantless wiretapping program were illegal but he wouldn't say exactly what laws were violated, having been requested by the administration to withhold such details.

Pakistan is apparently losing its war against terrorists and religious extremists, which provides al Qaeda and the Taliban more space in areas uncontrolled by the national government from which to plot and execute attacks inside and beyond Pakistan.

By Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The Republican Party is losing its grip as the party of business, a title it has long claimed, as fiscal conservatives grow dissatisfied with rising government spending and deficits under GOP leadership while there's rising unhappiness with the Iraq War and the Republican leadership's slower-than-Democrats response to global warming and health care problems.

The controversial Blackwater USA private contractor firm has fired 122 of its armed guards in Iraq in the past three years but also tried to cover up shootings, according to a congressional report that resulted from the recent killing of innocent Iraqi civilians by Blackwater employees.

A review of facts related to the 1967 attack by Israeli pilots on the U.S. spy ship U.S.S. Liberty during Israel's Six Day War against Egypt still leaves the central question unanswered: Why was the attack which left 34 Americans dead ordered?

With one of the largest meat recalls as an ironic backdrop, Congress is considering legislation that would drop federal inspections of meat by small producers which is then shipped across state lines.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Deaths of U.S. service members in Iraq fell to the lowest level in more than a year, a drop military officials attributed to the surge of coalition forces in the country.

Iran's top security official said his nation would help the U.S. in Iraq in exchange for the U.S. setting a timetable for withdrawing American troops.

The U.S. military's struggle against the most dangerous threat to soldiers, improvised explosive devices, has included a long learning curve with much trial and error.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Private security guards who were at the Baghdad scene earlier this month where Iraqi civilians were killed told U.S. investigators that one guard kept firing at civilians even after other guards called for a ceasefire, to the point where another guard drew his weapon on the offender.

Cities along the Gulf Coast are trying to get Katrina-storm victims to move out of FEMA trailers as communities try to rid themselves of trailer towns because of crime problems and a sense that they're standing in the way of recovery.

The U.S. border with Canada is vulnerable to terrorists according to federal investigators who told lawmakers how they were able to repeatedly get a large red duffle bag across the border without being stopped by federal agents.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates sought an additional $42.3 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, bringing to $190 billion the amount the Bush Administration has requested for fiscal 2008 with Democrats saying they wouldn't rubber stamp the request. Meanwhile, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey Jr. said that service was seriously stretched and would have trouble responding to conflict elsewhere.

U.S. and coalition forces have killed more than 19,000 militants in Iraq since 2003, according to statistics newly released by the U.S. military.

Democratic presidential candidates aggressively criticized frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton at a debate at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire as they tried to cut into her frontrunner status in national and state polls.

Blackwater USA leads other private security contractors in the rate of shooting incidents involving Iraqis compared with firms providing similar services to the State Department, said Bush Administration officials.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The United Autoworkers and General Motors reached a tentative agreement, ending a two-day strike by 73,000 workers. The UAW agreed to assume the cost of retiree health care while the carmaker agreed to take steps towards job security for many workers.

President Bush and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used their appearances at a particularly drama-filled meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to indirectly outline their differences, with Bush calling for the UN to do more to promote human rights and Ahmadinejad saying the issue of Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology was 'closed.'

The Supreme Court decided to take up two cases that could impact on the 2008 elections, the issue of the lawfulness of voter identification laws like those in Indiana and whether the chemicals currently used for executions is constitutional or constitute "cruel and unusual" punishment.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke to a Columbia University audience after a scathing introduction by the institution's president, Lee Bollinger. The Holocaust-denying Iranian leader parried many questions with his own queries, and lost any credibility he might've had with many in the audience when he said Iran didn't have homosexuals.

The military's prosecution of detainees accused of being enemy combatants was put back on track by a special military appeals panel which said a lower-court judge had erred in saying the military tribunals couldn’t proceed because of a legal technicality.

Amid massive protests against the military regime led by Buddhist monks in Burma, also known as Myanmar, President Bush said he would call for more sanctions against that authoritarian government.

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The investigation of $6 billion of defense contracts tied to the Iraq War is widening with charges against 29 individuals, scores of criminal probes and the suicides of two Army officers.

Officials within the Pentagon have urged U.S. military snipers to place detonation cords, explosives and other items of potential interest to insurgents as bait to kill Iraqis who try to gather them up as possible insurgents.

The dismissive attitude of Michael Mukasey, President Bush's nominee to be attorney general, to allegations of the mistreatment of innocent Muslim men arrested after 9/11, are the basis for some criticism of the former federal judge.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Thousands of protesters from across the nation marched in Jena, La. to protest what they said was disproportionate justice meted out to six black youths involved in a school fight, capturing the attention of President Bush who said he was "saddened" by the whole affair.

The Iraqi government said its probe proved the completely unprovoked nature of the controversial killing of at least 20 civilians by private Blackwater USA guards protecting State Department officials traveling around Baghdad on Sunday.

The kinds of alliances between Iraqi tribes and the U.S. military that led to the quelling of a significant amount of violence in Anbar Province are spreading, with the U.S. military also reporting that Baghdad car bombs and suicide attacks are at their lowest levels this year.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The Senate rejected, for the second time, legislation pushed by Democrats that would have required the Pentagon to give troops as much time at home as they serve deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, giving President Bush a victory over opponents to his management of the Iraq War.

Private security guard contractors in Iraq operate beyond the reach of American and Iraqi laws since the Defense Department hasn't yet taken the steps necessary to place them in a legal framework.

Blackwater USA's armed guards in Iraq have been exempted by the State Department from U.S. military regulations that applied to other security contractors.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The Federal Reserve lowered key interest-rates, including a larger-than-expected, fifty-basis-point cut in the federal funds rate, signaling its concerns that the mortgage sector's troubles raised recession risks. The move, cheered by financial markets and borrowers of all kinds, had economists disagreeing over whether the central bank would reduce rates further.

A huge internal migration is reshaping Iraq's ethic and sectarian profile with many families moving several times to escape the often sectarian-driven violence.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates set out his vision for Iraq, which included no permanent U.S. bases there, a much smaller U.S. force than exists now and a sizeable U.S. Navy and Air Force presence in the region.

The State Department suspended motorcade travel by its employees around Baghdad as the Iraqi government said its initial investigation indicated that a State Department convoy wasn't ambushed on Sunday but rather that the private Blackwater USA contractors protecting it fired first, killing an Iraqi couple and their infant.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush broke with conventional wisdom and his normal pattern in choosing an outsider, retired judge Michael Mukasey, to be his attorney general, seeking consensus over confrontation with the Democratic-led Congress.

Mukasey compiled a generally conservative record as a jurist but wasn't reflexively conservative, for instance, ruling in a way in one case that displeased abortion opponents.

Two Democratic senators warned they will block Mukasey's confirmation unless the White House turns over documents —including thousands of e-mails—Congress subpoenaed as part of its probe into the controversial firing of nine U.S. attorneys.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush is set to announce Michael Mukasey, a law-and-order conservative and retired judge who has received Democratic support in the past, as his choice for attorney general, succeeding the controversial Alberto Gonzales whose last day was Friday.

U.S. ambassador to the Iraq, Ryan Crocker, criticized the bureaucratic delays facing Iraqis seeking asylum in the U.S., including those at risk from insurgents because they helped the U.S., and urged in a cable that the process be greatly speeded up.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that he would advise President Bush to veto Democratic legislation that would require U.S. troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to spend as much time home as they do deployed, calling it a "backdoor " way to speed up a troop drawdown.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

In a prime-time televised speech, President Bush vowed an "enduring relationship" with Iraq and that U.S. troops in Iraq would "return on success," saying some troops would be leaving without replacement later this year. But Democrats rejected the president's approach as just a return to the pre-surge strategy.

The White House didn't want to be pinned down on the number of U.S. troops to remain in Iraq after the surge-related troops are withdrawn because of the support troops needed required by the remaining combat forces.

Presidential candidates campaigning in Iowa used the Petraeus-Crocker report on progress in Iraq to try and rally voters to their side, with Democrats calling for withdrawal of troops sooner rather than later and Republicans urging voters to focus on reports of progress.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush, in his prime-time Iraq speech tonight, will ask Americans for continued patience as the surge of U.S. troops is scheduled to start winding down later this year along the lines of Gen. David Petraeus's recommendation.

An agreement in Iraq on how to split the nation's oil revenues appeared to be falling apart just as President Bush and congressional supporters of the present strategy were looking to those talks as a sign of progress.

One death and dozen injuries from an attack two days ago at the U.S. military's Iraq headquarters in Baghdad were caused by a sophisticated 240 mm missile from Iran, of the type that Iranian forces have provided to Shi'ite militias, a U.S. general said.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker faced tough questioning from mostly skeptical senators yesterday about the prospects for meaningful progress in Iraq and the need for a continued large U.S. presence.

President Bush's plan to adopt Gen. Petraeus's plan of reducing by next summer U.S. military forces in Iraq only to pre-surge levels was criticized by Democrats and some Republicans who want a faster withdrawal.

In a policy reversal, U.S. military and diplomatic officials trying to reduce violence levels, have held meetings with elements of controversial Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al Sadr's militia, a group which has frequently attacked U.S. troops.

Six years after the 9/11 attacks, those atrocities remain connected to the U.S.'s political debate about Iraq even though investigators and experts say there were no links between the attacks and the former Saddam Hussein regime.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Gen David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker's assessments of the U.S. military surge's results and the potential for improvements were more upbeat than those of many other analysts who have questioned the accuracy of Petraeus's statistics on violence. the

Petraeus testified that he sees a larger and longer role for the U.S. military in Iraq than do many critics of the war, especially Democrats.

Petraeus's testimony clarified that President Bush's strategy is to leave to his successor a large U.S. presence in Iraq, essentially placing on the next president the burden of figuring out how to exit Iraq.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Ambassador Ryan Crocker's testimony on Iraq's progress or lack of it may eventually have more lasting impact than the testimony of Gen. David Petraeus since the Iraqi government's failure to reach political reconciliation could ultimately thwart all U.S. efforts to leave a self-sustaining government.

While a lot of attention is being placed on Gen. David Petraeus's testimony today, the real drama is likely to play out in the week's after his appearance as Democrats and some many military experts say the surge can't be sustained past April while President Bush resists the setting of timelines.

Despite their best efforts, Democrats have not been successful at forcing a single major change in U.S. policy in Iraq.

Gen. David Petraeus has recommended that President Bush refrain from any significant reductions in U.S. military forces in Iraq for at least six months, though a combat brigade of about 4,000 soldiers could be sent home in mid-December.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun had an openly prickly moment at the end of the Asian Pacific Economic summit when Roh insisted that Bush state clearly that the 54-year old Korean conflict with North Korea was officially over and Bush demurred.

A U.S. intelligence intercept of communications between Pakistan and Stuttgart, Germany led to the tip that resulted in the arrests of three terrorist suspects who've been accused of wanting to attack with explosives U.S. military bases, the Frankfurt airport and other German locations frequented by U.S. citizens.

Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) failed to fully disclose the extent of his investments in oceanfront property in Nicaragua he planned to develop and also failed to discuss the benefit he would receive from passage of the Central American Free Trade Act in 2005 which included increased legal protections for investors like himself.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most imteresting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao met in Australia at the Asian Pacific economic summit and discussed a range of issues that have been sore points between the two nations including Chinese currency policies, recalls of products imported from China and human rights.

A new report by retired U.S. military officers and law enforcement officials concludes the Iraqi army will be unable to provide internal security for a year or longer and that the Iraqi police should be disbanded because it’s corrupt and filled with militia members and sectarianism.

Experts are casting doubts on the U.S. military's claims that violence has dropped in recent months since the military surge began, accusing U.S. officials of selectively choosing data and using absurdly non-scientific counting methods.

Senate Democrats indicated they are much more ready to compromise with Republican colleagues who are also growing impatient with the Iraq War, with members of the party in control saying they might be willing to accept a less hard and fast timetable for withdrawing troops.

White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten said there would likely be U.S. troops in Iraq after President Bush leaves office in 2009 as part of a sustained American presence int eh Middle East although no one can now say how many troops would remain.

Fred Thompson finally made his official entry into the presidential race, appearing on the Jay Leno Show, then releasing his announcement video on the website.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

In his third surprise visit to Iraq, President Bush hinted that a U.S. troop withdrawal was possible if the "kind of success we are now seeing continues," a statement meant to pre-empt White House critics ahead of Gen. David Petraeus's Iraq progress report scheduled for next week.

The surge is at the center of Gen. David Petraeus's counterinsurgency strategy but the results to date have been transitory and sometimes not even real, with one of the general's proudest achievements, the Dora market to which he takes visiting congressional delegations, something of a Potemkin village.

U.S. counterinsurgency efforts have failed to reconcile the sectarian splits in Iraq with the religious divide actually appearing to worsen, violence being displaced to outside the capital and political infighting stalling the government's progress.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Senate Republicans increased the pressure on embattled Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho to resign, with the head of the Senate Republican re-election efforts saying that's what he would do if he were in Craig's plight.

The police officer who arrested Sen. Larry Craig in a Minneapolis airport restroom for allegedly soliciting a sexual act accused the senator of lying about the behavior that led to his arrest, according to a recording of the policeman's interview with the lawmaker.

President Bush will propose some relief for homeowners threatened by foreclosures, including having the Federal Home Administration expand eligibility for its insurance program to homeowners with bad credit records and urging creditors to refrain from some foreclosures.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Congressional Republicans moved relatively quickly to deal with the scandal involving Sen. Larry Craig's Minneapolis arrest and conviction following an airport restroom sex sting, with the Senate's Republican leadership stripping him of his seniority on committees and senators John McCain and Norm Coleman and Rep. calling on Craig to quit Congress.

A General Accountability Office assessment found that Iraq had failed to meet all but three of 18 benchmarks of military and political progress and GAO investigators suggested earlier positive findings by the White House failed to account for more negative views within the administration.

President Bush, visiting the Gulf Coast, said it had not been forgotten by the federal government but there was much criticism on the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina that the government hadn't done more to rebuild New Orleans and other devastated areas in the region.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Iraqis who've worked for the American military and government are having difficulty emigrating to the U.S. in part because they must first travel beyond Iraq to apply.

President Bush will ask Congress for an additional $50 billion for the military efforts in Iraq, an indication that the Bush Administration believes it is successfully fighting off anti-war efforts to significantly downsize the military effort.

Iraq's embattled Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki defended his government, saying his efforts at political reconciliation, not the U.S. military surge, accounted for the drop in violence and added that he doesn't expect to be forced out.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour to some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales surprised the nation's capital by announcing the end of his controversial tenure as Justice Department head following disputes with Congress over his role in the war on terror and the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, with President Bush blaming lawmakers and naming Paul Clement, the current solicitor general, to replace Gonzales on an acting basis.

Democrats said congressional investigations into the Bush Administration's firing of nine attorney generals and its warrantless surveillance would continue despite Gonzales's departure.

Federal agencies are investigating the possibility of fraud and kickbacks in the supply of weapons and materiel to both American and Iraq military and security forces , already producing indictments of several Americans.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned, having tendered his resignation to President Bush on Friday according to a report in the New York Times.

Iraqi insurgents have been financed in part by U.S. reconstruction money they've extorted from Iraqi contractors.

President Bush is resorting to a familiar strategy in his effort to buy time for his Iraq strategy, a vigorous campaign to win over the hearts and minds of American voters and congressional Republicans.

More than 90 percent of the Army's new recruits are choosing to take a $20,000 bonus in exchange for heading off to basic camp by the end of September.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace is expected to advise President Bush to call for U.S. troop cuts across Iraq to reduce levels to 100,000 from the current 160,000 in order to prevent further overstretching the military, advice likely to conflict with senior White House and military officials who support the current surge.

The consensus of the U.S. intelligence community on Iraq was that the military surge has improved the Iraq security situation but that the war-torn nation's political progress remains stalled and is likely to remain fragile, according to an unclassified part of the National Intelligence Estimated released Thursday.

Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi demanded that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shi'a led government meet a number of demands, including the release of some detained Sunnis, before his Sunni faction would return to the government.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush cited past U.S. wars, particularly Vietnam, to urge continued support for American military involvement in Iraq although critics said the president was misapplying the lessons of the U.S. long and sad conflict in Southeast Asia.

Iraqi militias have seized control of many parts of their nation's electrical grid, increasing the difficulties for the U.S. and Iraqi governments as they try to modernize the electrical infrastructure and raise the amount of electricity flowing to Iraqis.

Gen. George Casey, who President Bush removed earlier this year from direct oversight of the Iraq War, effectively making him the scapegoat, is being vindicated as the White House embraces his strategy of withdrawing some U.S. units while training Iraqis to take their places.

The Bush Administration is poised to issue a new rule that would expand the controversial practice of mountaintop mining in which the tops of mountains are blown off to expose the coal, creating vast amounts of waste in the valleys below.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush publicly expressed his frustration with the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for its inability to achieve political reconciliation among its ethnic factions but stopped short of withdrawing support as anticipation grows for the mid-September progress report from U.S. officials in Iraq.

Fourteen U.S. soldiers in Iraq were killed when a Blackhawk helicopter crashed apparently from a mechanical problem and not hostile action, according to the U.S. military.

A White House manual on how to deal with protesters that has come to light because of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit tells staffers that the priority is to keep dissenters from President Bush's view.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Hurricane Dean strengthened to a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 165 miles per hour and struck Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

The Bush Administration has adopted rules to make it harder for states to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program to children in middle-income families.

Sen. Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee just back from Iraq, called for Iraqis to select a new leader, saying Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is unable to bring the political changes the U.S. military surge, which the lawmaker acknowledged had shown some success, was meant to encourage.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Hurricane Dean plowed into the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica as a category 4 storm causing widespread damage as it appeared headed towards Mexico and perhaps Texas later in the week.

President Bush's push for democracy across the world, especially in the Middle East, has stalled, slowed in part by the Washington bureaucracy he controls since many in his own administration never accepted the idea.

Democrats and Republicans are vying now to shape voters' images of the Democratic-controlled Congress, aware that they have little time to do so before most voters' attention goes to the presidential race.

Karl Rove, In a series of television appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows, disclaimed any responsibility for any of the White House controversies he often gets blamed for, including the leak of a CIA operative's name.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Jose Padilla, the once-alleged "dirty bomber," and two co-defendants were convicted by a federal jury on terrorism conspiracy charges, giving the Bush Administration a victory in a case that the U.S. citizen and former Chicagoan will likely appeal in part because of his one-time detention as an enemy combatant.

The repeated sell-offs in the financial markets largely based on the crisis in the mortgage sector raise the possibility of a recession late this year or next, especially as anxious lenders make it harder for even good borrowers to get loans, according to analysts.

Countrywide, the nation's largest mortgage lender, said it tapped a $11.5 billion credit facility arranged through a global banking consortium to help it continue its operations and help stave off a bankruptcy that experts say could have a chilling affect on already skittish international financial markets.

U.S. embassies have been plagued with construction problems during the State Department's $5 billion building program, focusing the spotlight on the retired Army general who oversees the program and has been criticized for poor management in high profile jobs in the past.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers are increasingly concerned that the highly anticipated Iraq progress reports to be delivered in September by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker won't clarify the situation but instead serve to reinforce existing positions on the war.

The death toll of about 500 from Tuesday's coordinated truck-bomb attacks in northern Iraq are the worst of the war.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he expected the turbulence in the capital markets to slow economic growth but added that the economy and markets were robust enough to fend off a recession.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The Bush Administration is set to tag Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, a designation that would allow the U.S. to more aggressively target the Iranian military's financial interests and a move meant to increase pressure not just on Iran for its nuclear activities and its anti-U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but U.S. allies as well.

Truck bombers killed more than 200 members of the Yazidis, a small, ancient religious sect in northern Iraq, the deadliest attack of the year.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, is considering withdrawing U.S. troops from certain parts of Iraq as a sign of the military's progress in fighting the insurgency.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Karl Rove's influence on American politics may be felt long after he officially leaves his White House job as President Bush's chief political advisor later this month since operatives who worked with him learning his methods work in many Republican campaigns.

Rove watchers, including his allies, believe he failed to achieve his goal of creating a permanent Republican majority.

U.S. and Iraqi forces began a new offensive Monday north of Baghdad to drive insurgents out of areas they fled to because of pressure from the U.S. surge elsewhere.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Karl Rove, President Bush's controversial long-time chief political aide, is resigning from the White House, effective Aug. 31, to return to Texas.

Major bomb attacks in Iraq of the sort favored by al Qaida have declined more than 50 percent since the U.S. military surge began earlier this year, according to U.S. military officials who cited their pressure on the group for the fall.

If the order were given, U.S. troops could leave Iraq fairly quickly, exiting the country through the south and into Kuwait but they would leave huge chaos behind if the Iraqi government's situation remained unchanged, according to a recent Army war game.

by Mark Silva

A brief tour of morning headlines of significance in Washington, with a review of the latest on the immigration and border front -- read on.

ASIAN MARKETS OFF -- Central banks around Asia joined the United States and Europe in attempting to stave off a credit crunch among banks today, as widening fears over losses in the U.S. housing loan market prompted investors to sell assets and commercial banks to reel in credit lines, the New York Times reports.

Stocks in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia dropped by more than 2.5 percent, with South Korea’s benchmark dropping 4.27 percent. As investors sold off assets considered relatively risky, such as Philippine stocks, they bought those considered safer, such as Japanese government bonds.

“Everyone’s been talking about a credit crunch and not surprisingly it turned into one,” said Jan Lambregts, head of Asia research at Rabobank in Hong Kong. "The main problem is we don’t know who is bearing the losses and that kind of uncertainty is creating the situation that we’re in right now.”

U.S. SEEKS U.N. HELP -- The Bush administration is proposing a series of U.N.-brokered talks in Baghdad between the United States and Iraq's neighbors in an effort to rally support for the beleaguered Iraqi government, the Washington Post reports today.

The initiative, outlined in an interview with Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, comes as American diplomats have struggled to gain regional backing for U.S. policies in Iraq. Recent U.S. efforts to reach out to Iraq's neighbors have yielded little new cooperation. Arab officials said the Bush administration lacks credibility.

"I think you need regional help to get the Iraqis to come together," Khalilzad said. "For us, it's so hard to do this."

by Mark Silva

A brief tour around the morning headlines of importance and mere curiosity in Washington and beyond:

IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN -- In a bid to tough enforcement of immigration laws, federal authorities are poised this week to announce new rules requiring employers to fire workers who use false Social Security numbers.

The push will be reinforced with stepped-up raids on workplaces across the country that employ illegal immigrants, the New York Times reports. "After first proposing the rules last year, Department of Homeland Security officials said they held off finishing them to await the outcome of the debate in Congress over a sweeping immigration bill,'' the Times reports, noting that the measure, backed by President Bush, died in the Senate in June.

DRUG CRACKDOWN -- The Bush administration is "close to sealing a major, multiyear aid deal to combat drug cartels in Mexico, the Washington Post reports, calling it the "biggest U.S. anti-narcotics effort abroad since a seven-year, $5 billion program in Colombia.''

Negotiators for Mexico and the United States have made significant progress toward agreement, the Post reports. "Delicate questions remain -- primarily regarding Mexican sensitivities about the level of U.S. activity on Mexican soil -- but confidence is running high that a deal will be struck soon.'' Rep. Henry Cueller (D-Tex.) predicts an announcement as soon as Aug. 20, when President Bush meets with Mexican President Felipe Calderón and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at Montebello, Canada.

TEACHER IN SPACE -- "When the space shuttle Challenger blew up in 1986, Barbara Morgan watched from a NASA viewing area as seven friends and colleagues -- including fellow teacher Christa McAuliffe -- plunged to their deaths,'' the Orlando Sentinel reports today, as the teacher who trained as backup for McAuliffe prepares for launch aboard the Endeavour.

"Seventeen years later, when Columbia disintegrated over Texas, Morgan was in a NASA plane waiting to escort the ship home. She had been scheduled to fly on its next mission,'' reporter Jim Stratton of the Tribune Co. newspaper reports in a story that the Tribune also displayed today as well. "Now it's Morgan's turn to board a shuttle.

"And she says she is unfazed by past tragedies. When Endeavour lifts off -- the launch is set for 5:36 p.m. CDT Wednesday -- the teacher-turned-astronaut and six others will be strapped into the orbiter and hurled skyward by almost 7 million pounds of thrust. For the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the launch will cap its campaign to put a teacher into space. For Morgan, 55, it will complete a journey 22 years in the making: "We're looking forward to a great flight. We're really looking forward to coming back and telling you all about it."

by Mark Silva

Come along for a brief tour of some of the top, or simply more interesting, stories of the day in Washington or perhaps a bit beyond, yet connected to, the Washington horizon this morning:

TEMPTATION STREET --The new congressional and lobbying ethics law is sending a "ripple of fear'' through K Street, home of the Washington lobbyists, the way the New York Times tells it. "It comes amid signs that federal prosecutors are taking a newly aggressive approach to corruption cases — including treating campaign contributions as potential bribes.''

The first concern is what lobbyists are calling the new “temptation rules.” The Times notes: "Not only do they bar lawmakers and aides from accepting any gifts, meals or trips from lobbyists, they also impose penalties up to $200,000 and five years in prison on any lobbyist who provides such freebies.

BASRA BACKSLIDES -- When Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, conferred with President Bush at Camp David last week, he said British forces in Iraq had made a transition from "combat to overwatch'' in three of the four provinces they controlled and hoped to achieve the same oversight role in the fourth province, Basra in the south.

But the Washington Post paints a troubling picture of Basra today: "As British forces pull back from Basra in southern Iraq, Shiite militias there have escalated a violent battle against each other for political supremacy and control over oil resources, deepening concerns among some U.S. officials in Baghdad that elements of Iraq's Shiite-dominated national government will turn on one another once U.S. troops begin to draw down,'' the Post reports..

"Three major Shiite political groups are locked in a bloody conflict that has left the city in the hands of militias and criminal gangs, whose control extends to municipal offices and neighborhood streets. The city is plagued by "the systematic misuse of official institutions, political assassinations, tribal vendettas, neighborhood vigilantism and enforcement of social mores, together with the rise of criminal mafias that increasingly intermingle with political actors," a recent report by the International Crisis Group said.

"it's hard now to paint Basra as a success story," a senior U.S. official in Baghdad with long experience in the south told the Post. Instead, it has become a different model, one that U.S. officials with experience in the region are concerned will be replicated throughout the Iraqi Shiite homeland from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf. A recent series of war games commissioned by the Pentagon also warned of civil war among Shiites after a reduction in U.S. forces.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

As recovery efforts continued in Minneapolis following the bridge collapse, with federal officials promising money to rebuild and a weekend presidential visit to the disaster site scheduled, engineers said the bridge failure underscored the deterioration of the nation's once vaunted interstate highway system.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and his Dawa political party appeared unable to move political reconciliation forward because of their tendency to be inward looking and suspicious of other political players instead of inclusive.

The State Department is offering its foreign-service officers plum assignments in the highly sought postings like London and Paris if first they agree to a year-long Iraq posting.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

A major interstate highway bridge serving Minnesota's Twin Cities-metropolitan area in collapsed into the Mississippi River, plunging 50 vehicles into the waters below, killing at least nine people and injuring at least 60 and renewing concerns about the nation's aging infrastructure.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia were unable to significantly narrow their differences over the oil kingdom's role in Iraq despite meetings between Saudi leaders and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

President Bush invoked executive privilege to prevent aide Karl Rove from appearing before Congress to testify about his involvement in the controversial firing of nine U.S. attorneys.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The House passed major lobbying reform legislation to require lobbyists and lawmakers to disclose significantly more, including the earmarks members of Congress seek and whether they have any financial interests in them, and the campaign contributions lobbyists collect and "bundle" before they pass them along to lawmakers.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. won its $5 billion bid for Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, potentially giving him his most influential platform in the U.S. yet for his conservative views, which critics believe could eventually damage the newspaper's reputation for journalistic integrity.

U.S. military officials said Shiite militias were the greatest threat in Iraq, not the al Qaeda terrorist group, as President Bush has insisted.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was hospitalized overnight with tests finding no cause for concern after he experienced a seizure at his Maine summer home, causing him to fall and receive minor scrapes at a dock near his house.

President Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown strove to keep a unified front over Iraq and the fight against terrorism during the British leader's first visit as his nation's premier to the White House.

Federal agents raided the Alaska home of Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in the Senate in history, as part of a corruption investigation involving a friend of the senator's and other Alaskan lawmaker who was convicted on bribery charges.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Iraqi and U.S. officials are pinning some of their hopes for progress in Iraq on creating the rule of law through an unusual legal system which, due to general level of violence in the nation, has been essentially sealed off from the rest of the country.

President Bush is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Saudi Arabia to seek more support from the oil kingdom for Iraq.

The number of annual hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean has more than doubled over a century, scientists say, because of global warming.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Saudi Arabia has angered U.S. officials for what is perceived as its counterproductive role in Iraq through a lack of support for its neighbor's Shiite-led government and the steady flow of jihadists into Iraq from the oil-rich kingdom.

Jordan appealed for international help to deal with 750,000 Iraqi refugees it said it said is costing $1 billion a year.

As Senate Democrats called for a perjury probe into Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller contradicted Gonzales by telling Congress that the warrantless wiretapping program was why Gonzales made a controversial 2004 visit to the hospital bed of then Attorney General John Ashcroft.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Mortar and rocket attacks by insurgents into the Green Zone in Baghdad have gotten more accurate in recent months, according to a U.S. general who alleges it's because of the training the attackers are receiving in Iraq.

The House Judiciary Committee approved on a partisan vote contempt proceedings against a current and a former White House aide cited executive privilege to defy congressional subpoenas to either testify or deliver information in Congress's probe of the controversial firings of nine U.S. attorneys.

A presidential panel led by former Republican Sen. Bob Dole and Donna Shalala, the Clinton Administration's Health and Human Services Secretary, called for a total overhaul of the health-care system for wounded military service members in the wake of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush has talked more frequently with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuru al-Maliki in recent months than he has with any other foreign leader but with scarce progress towards the U.S. goal of an Iraqi political reconciliation.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was lambasted by Democratic and Republican senators alike who accused him of flirting with perjury as he answered questions about the warrantless wiretap program, including his controversial visit to the hospital bedside of his predecessor John Ashcroft which he made to get the sick man to override a decision by senior Justice Department officials.

President Bush once again linked 9/11 to Iraq by arguing that terrorists belonging to al Qaeda in Iraq were part of the same al Qaeda organization behind the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The Democratic presidential debate featuring the novel format of questions submitted by Americans via YouTube personal videos forced the candidates to answer some questions not posed in earlier debates.

U.S. military leaders have drafted classified plans that have American military forces in Iraq until 2009.

A new poll found both President Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress getting low marks for their handling of the Iraq War but indicated that Americans prefer Congress more than Bush to resolve the nation's most pressing issue.

As the huge U.S. embassy in Iraq nears completion, it grows as a symbol of what U.S. mistakes there, with Iraqis seeing the large facility as equal to American designs on their nation while Americans view it as dangerously vulnerable to mortar and rocket attacks.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The U.S. military's increased security responsibilities in Iraq have slowed the training of Iraqi security forces according to a U.S. general just returned from Iraq who added that the Iraqi forces would need U.S. support for at least two more years.

Sunni and Shia tribal groups reached a pact to fight al Qaeda and other extremists in Anbar province, according to the U.S. military which negotiated the deal, though extremists appeared to quickly retaliate with a car bomb.

House Democrats are poised to make changes in health-care funding, like cutting Medicare payments to private health plans supported by Republicans, that they say would expand care to children and adult Americans, setting up a clash with the White House which accuses the Democrats of heading down the road of nationalized healtcare.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

U.S. generals leading the military effort in Iraq asked Congress and the American people to give them more time to accomplish the mission of stabilizing that country while the U.S. ambassador to Iraq downplayed the benchmarks, positions that met with bipartisan resistance from lawmakers.

Congressional Democrats are putting off plans to legislate an overhaul the nation's voting systems before the 2008 presidential election to make it easier to account for ballots after state and local officials said more time was needed for the changes.

The Bush Administration expanded its assertion of executive privilege saying the Justice Department wouldn’t be allowed to pursue contempt of Congress charges against the administration officials ignored Congress's subpoenas in the probe of the firing of U.S. attorneys.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Senate Democrats' failure to pass legislation to begin a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq likely relieves congressional pressure on President Bush's surge strategy until September when the U.S. top commander in Iraq is due to report on the status of American efforts to stabilize the country.

The Bush Administration warned Pakistan that it would launch military attacks within that southeast Asian nation's territory if Pakistan doesn't do more to stop cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates found an additional $1.2 billion for mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles by shifting around Pentagon funds.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Senate Democrats staged an all-night debate to raise the pressure on Senate Republicans for refusing to allow a vote on Democratic legislation calling for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

The highest-ranking Iraqi in al Qaeda in Iraq was arrested on July 4 according to the U.S. military which said the man known as Abu Shahid indicated the organization's foreign leadership had major influence in the group.

Al Qaeda remains determined to strike the U.S. homeland, according to an intelligence report the White House released after very limited declassification, though intelligence officials said there were no indications of an imminent attack. Critics said the report showed the Iraq War had the unintended consequence of contributing to the terrorist danger.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Recent U.S. military war games suggested that Iraq would become three separate nations if U.S. forces left anytime soon.

Contractors in Iraq have nearly as many employees as there are U.S. troops in the war-torn nation, exposing these workers to the dangers from violence but without the medical safety net provided to service members.

Democratic senators declared they would keep the Senate in session all night to try to force Republicans to allow a vote on Democratic legislation that would set a timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin sent a letter to the Pentagon warning that the additional armor plating for the military's new mine resistant vehicles is too heavy, impairing the vehicles.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour to some of the morning's most important or interesting Washington-related stories.

The recently averted British car bombing plot, in which doctors and other health-care workers were alleged participants, has shaken the notion of who is a terrorist.

Federal food regulators lack the power to force the recall of foods that sicken consumers and even when recalls occur only a fraction of the tainted food is ever recovered.

Conservationists and preservationists fear a federal law gave federal regulators new power over the siting of power transmission lines threatens wildlife and historic enclaves.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

In a largely partisan vote, the House approved legislation to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq within 120 days of the bill's enactment, which is highly unlikely since President Bush has vowed to veto it.

President Bush urged Congress and the American people for more patience for U.S. efforts in Iraq despite a Bush Administration progress report which showed at best mixed results in the war-torn nation.

President Bush wrongly conflates the al Qaeda terrorist group that attacked the U.S. on 9/11 and the organization that uses the same name in Iraq, according to critics who say the president appears to be using the same misleading technique that paved the way for the U.S. invasion in 2003.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden in December provided members of the Iraq Study Group a bleaker assessment of the Iraq government's ability to stabilize that country than what President Bush and other administration officials were saying publicly.

The Bush Administration's embrace of benchmarks for the Iraq government are now seen by some administration officials as a mistake since the Iraqi failure to meet many of the goals has made it easier for critics to fault Bush's policy.

President Bush and other administration officials will make the case in coming days that Iraq has made significant progress on about half of the 18 benchmarks while saying it's too early to make conclusive judgments on other goals that weren't met.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said this summer was an elevated time of risk for terrorist attacks, based on a "gut instinct" arising from intelligence he wouldn't disclose, seasonal patterns of attacks and evidence that al Qaeda is reconstituting itself.

Amid defections from his Iraq policy by some high-profile Republicans, President Bush urged Congress to wait until Gen. David Petraeus's mid-September Iraq progress report before it voted to force a change in U.S. policy.

Certain Republican senators facing tough re-elections are feeling the pressure to change their Iraq stances from an orchestrated campaign by anti-war activists.

by Frank James

A quick guided-tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting Washington-related stories.

President Bush intends to begin emphasizing the next phase of U.S. military involvement in Iraq, including potential troop reductions next year if the security circumstances allow, as he responds to several senior Republican senators who have broken with the White House on the war.

With anti-war pressure mounting on Congress, the Senate began what was expected to be critical debate on continued U.S. involvement in the Iraq War as part of its work on legislation to fund the Defense Department next year.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told lawmakers he knew of no violations of civil liberties under the Patriot Act even after he was repeatedly told of Federal Bureau of Investigation violations.

U.S ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, echoing the Iraqi foreign minister, warned of much greater violence and a wider regional conflict if U.S. troops were withdrawn too quickly from Iraq.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Hundreds of Iraqis died in a truck bombing in a remote village in northern Iraq in one of the worst single attacks since the war started, an example of insurgents moving to softer targets and away from Baghdad with its increased U.S. and Iraqi security.

White House officials fear that they won't be able to hold onto Senate Republican support for the military surge until mid-September as they had hoped and are debating whether President Bush should announce gradual U.S. troop withdrawals to keep more senators from breaking with him.

The Iraqi foreign minister warned that his nation will descend into full-scale civil war if the U.S. withdraws.

Attacks on supply convoys in Iraq, increasingly guarded by private contractors, have soared with 869 attacks in the 12 months that ended in May compared to 281 in the similar 2006 period.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico became the third senior Republican senator in two weeks to question the effectiveness of the U.S. troop surge and call for a change in direction in Iraq.

U.S. soldiers, in a new priority for Washington and military policymakers, are attempting to make allies of Sunnis, some of them former insurgents, in the fight against extremists in Iraq.

White House aides struck back at the Clintons who criticized President Bush's commutation of the prison sentence for perjury in the CIA leak case of former White House senior aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. The aides accused the Clintons of "chutzpah" given the dubious pardons the former president issued.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush used the July 4th holiday to urge continued American patience with the Iraq War, comparing the four years of U.S. commitment there with the six years of the American Revolutionary War.

The new U.S. embassy in Baghdad, built by a Kuwaiti contractor already under investigation by U.S. officials, has serious construction flaws, including life-threatening ones, according to communications from the staff to State Department officials.

Employees of U.S. contractors in Iraq are often affected by combat stress similar to that experienced by U.S. military service members, but their problems are often poorly treated or ignored entirely.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush kept alive the possibility of a pardon for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, his former aide, whose prison sentence Bush commuted to keep the one-time chief of staff to Vice President Cheney from going to prison for his perjury conviction in the CIA leak case.

The Iraqi cabinet of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki agreed to a draft oil law that would determine how the nation's oil revenues were split, an essential step if a political reconciliation is to be reached.

Republican presidential candidates are trailing their Democratic counterparts in the campaign cash raised, a result of Republicans being less enthusiastic about their candidates than Democrats and a reversal of the usual dynamics of presidential campaigns.

Washington D.C.'s law restricts tall skyscrapers but a tight commercial real estate market has started a debate as to whether that should change with strong resistance in some quarters to remaking the city's renowned skyline.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush sparked controversy by commuting the sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, allowing his former senior White House aide and chief of staff to Vice President Cheney to avoid serving any time in prison for perjury and obstruction of justice following his conviction in the CIA leak case.

Bush's commutation of Libby's prison sentence resulted from the loyalty to aides the Bush family is well-known for as well as the reality that the president, standing low in the polls, had little left to lose politically.

Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin fished in Maine as they unsuccessfully tried to reach an understanding on Bush Administration plans to deploy a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

British officials publicly linked to al Qaeda the attempted car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow but offered no evidence. They had arrested at least five suspects, including a physician, though none apparently were British citizens. There appeared to be an Iranian Kurdish tie though it was unclear what the grievances of that ethnic group might be against Britain.

The Iraqi civilian death toll fell in June to its lowest level this year, according to the Iraqi government. But it was immediately unclear whether the statistics were accurate or related to the U.S. military surge.

Iran is using the Lebanese Hezbollah militia to arm Shiite militants in Iraq while an elite Iranian military group helped militants carry out a January operation in which five U.S. soldiers were abducted and killed, according to a U.S. general.

by Frank James

A quick quided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Immigration-reform efforts died in Congress after the Senate failed to keep alive on a procedural vote legislation supported by President Bush that would have provided a path to citizenship for the 12 million illegal immigrants. The failure set back hopes for action until 2009 at the earliest.

The immigration bill was defeated in part by the high level of outrage in small-town America, especially in the South and Midwest where many illegal Latin American immigrants have gone in recent years.

The Supreme Court narrowed the use of race in school desegregation efforts, striking down two voluntary integration plans in Louisville, Ky. and Seattle, Wash. that the court said violated the Constitution.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour to some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

A huge car bomb exploded at a Baghdad bus depot during the Thursday morning's rush hour, killing at least 22 while at least 20 beheaded bodies were found in an area south of the Iraqi capital.

The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House for documents related to the Bush Administration's warrantless wiretapping counterterrorism program.

The immigration bill's fate appeared to worsen heading into Thursday morning's key procedural vote which could result in the bill dying as some members of the 64-vote coalition that voted to revive the bill earlier in the week peeled off because of the failure of certain amendments.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Senior Republican senators are openly breaking with the White House on the U.S. surge in Iraq, with some recommending the U.S. begin drawing down U.S. troops and focus more on non-military approaches to stabilize the nation and the Middle East.

U.S. troops in Iraq find themselves in the uneasy the role of referee between the warring religions and ethnic factions.

The Senate revived the controversial immigration bill on Tuesday, getting four more votes than the required 60 that were needed to get the bill back on the floor for reconsideration. But opponents vow to kill the bill.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

A suicide bomber walked into the supposedly secure lobby of popular hotel in downtown Baghdad and killed 12 people, including four Sunni sheiks who had worked with the U.S. military in Anbar province to fight al Qaeda.

U.S. soldiers face not just buildings but entire neighborhoods that are booby trapped with explosives as they attempt to rid Baquba north of Baghdad of insurgents and al Qaeda fighters.

Sen. Richard Lugar, a reliable conservative and a highly respected expert on foreign affairs, said the U.S.'s current course in Iraq wasn't in the nation's interest and urged both President Bush and Congress to downsize the military effort there while increasing efforts to resolve the Israel-Arab dispute and achieve energy independence.

By Frank James

A quick guided tour to some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

U.S. generals doubted the ability of Iraqi troops to hold the areas near Baghdad recently cleared of insurgents, a key part of the U.S. military's surge strategy that's also critical to U.S. plans to eventually leave Iraq able to defend itself.

President Bush has aides working on finding a compromise with the Democratic-controlled Congress on Iraq that would avoid future fights between the branches while achieving his goal of not withdrawing from Iraq precipitously.

Electricity is still in short supply in Bagdad four years after the invasion as the U.S. nears the end of the $4 billion it budgeted for Iraq's electrical sector and American experts prepare to handoff the problem to Iraqis.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The CIA will declassify hundreds of pages of documents detailing numerous illegal activities in past decades including assassination attempts, domestic spying and the infiltration of leftist groups.

Vice President Cheney recommended closing an executive branch oversight office after officials there expressed concerns about how the vice president's office handled classified information.

Walking on patrols is increasingly seen by U.S. military members as the best protection against the Iraqi insurgents' use of projectiles that can cut through armor and even seriously damage tanks.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Top Iraqi officials are increasingly impatient with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the slow pace of government accomplishments and the never-ending violence, with the Iraqi vice president recently tendering his resignation and other top leaders also considering resigning.

Despite bipartisan calls for disclosure of earmarks from lawmakers last week, only five of 21 Illinois legislators answered a reporter's request to fully disclose all their earmarks.

President Bush vetoed legislation that would have provided stem cell research more federal funding, the second time he has done so, as he called for the study of tissue that wouldn't destroy human life.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

U.S. military forces are attempting to keep insurgents from escaping during the U.S.'s latest operation in Iraq's Diyala Province to end the cycle that's often been called whack-a-mole, of U.S. troops engaging insurgents and terrorists in one place only to have them re-emerge in another.

President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, meeting at the White House, announced their support for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. They vowed to pursue peace in the region despite the takeover by Abba's rival group, Hamas, of the Gaza Strip.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg left the Republican Party, declaring himself an independent and increasing speculation that he is preparing an independent bid for the White House.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour to some of the morning's most interesting or important (or both) Washington-related stories.

U.S. and Iraqi military forces mounted a huge offensive to root out Sunni insurgents in Baquba in Diyala Province.

U.S. commanders rejected the recommendation of Army mental-health experts that soldiers get one month breaks after spending three months in combat since such a plan would reduce force levels available to the surge.

Dozens of Iraqis who served as Arabic and cultural interpreters for the U.S. military have fled Iraq for their safety only to become abandoned by the U.S. that once relied so heavily on them.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour to some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The U.S.'s current efforts to arm Sunnis to fight al Qaeda is undermining the Iraqi government and years of U.S. policy and is an admission that the country is in a civil war, according to some military officials and foreign-policy experts.

The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan killed seven children and some insurgents during an air strike against a suspected al Qaeda enclave. The air strike was apparently in response to a massive bomb blast in Kabul that claimed the largest civilian death toll since the U.S. invasion in 2001.

Military service members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are far and away the largest category of casualties of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But relatively speaking, the nation doesn't devote nearly the resources to their care that it devotes to those with physical injuries, particularly amputees, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in part because of a shortage of trained clinicians and bureaucracy.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Appeals by Iraqi and U.S. officials for calm after the bombing of the al-Askari Mosque in Samarra, Iraq appeared to have staved off for the time being an intensely violent reaction in terms of increased sectarian violence.

Gen. David Petraeus said the Iraq security plan in Baghdad is working, despite violence like Wednesday mosque bombing. He pointed to growing scenes of normalcy in Baghdad like the opening of large amusement parks and professional soccer teams playing on field with real grass.

The Pentagon reported that violence in Iraq rose in the three months ending in May as the buildup of U.S. and Iraqi forces in Baghdad pushed insurgents into other areas that were more peaceful before the U.S. military surge.

Posted by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The surviving minarets or towers on a mosque in Samarra, Iraq were destroyed in a Wednesday morning attack, setting off fears of a new wave of retaliatory sectarian violence similar to what occurred after the mosque's dome was destroyed last year.

A top U.S. general said Iraq needed to expand its 348,000-strong security forces by at least 50,000 and added that it would take at least five years before Iraq could control its airspace, suggesting a significant U.S. role in Iraq for some time.

The Iraqi government is failing to reach political agreements, and thus the benchmarks, set by the White House, despite the urgings of the Bush Administration, the U.S. military and Congress, making it extremely unlikely that the goals will be met by the time the top U.S. commander in Iraq , Gen. David Petraeus, reports in September on progress or the lack of it.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Iraqi insurgents are increasingly targeting bridges as large mass-casualty attacks in Baghdad have become harder to execute due to the higher level of U.S. and Iraqi security forces there.

Senate Republicans largely held together to foil Democrats' efforts to have the body vote no-confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales because of the controversy over the firing of several federal prosecutors. The Republican position was less about supporting Gonzales than further weakening Bush.

Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York largely owes her lead in a recent poll to the support of women who backed her two-to-one over Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. She gets especially strong support from lower income, less educated women.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The U.S. military is arming Iraqi Sunnis to fight their mutual enemy, the al Qaeda terrorist group, an admittedly risky step that could backfire with those weapons later being used against U.S. troops or in the civil war.

The Central Intelligence Agency is using Sudan to gather intelligence in Iraq, underscoring the awkward balancing act for U.S. policymakers who are also critical of that government for abetting the human suffering in Darfur.

A new military vehicle more capable of protecting U.S. troops in Iraq from the deadliest explosives used by insurgents was successfully tested and is ready to start production, according to its maker and a senator.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

An unstable immigration compromise collapsed and appeared dead in the Senate after a bid to move the bipartisan legislation to a vote derailed because a large majority of senators voted against ending debate.

Russian President Vladimir Putin defused the disagreement between himself and President Bush by offering the use of a Soviet-era radar base in Azerbaijan for the U.S. anti-ballistic missile shield.

The death toll of U.S. troops in Iraq surpassed 3,500 on Thursday with the death of another soldier from an improvised explosive device. Deaths of U.S. service members have averaged four a day in June.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Vice President Cheney, in a March 2004 meeting, pushed for the domestic wiretapping program over Justice Department officials' concerns that elements of it were illegal, according to a former top agency official. The meeting came the day before then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales's controversial and unsuccessful visit to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft's hospital room to get the sick man to override his aides' objections.

The immigration compromise being considered in the Senate would create a logistical nightmare for an already overburdened federal bureaucracy.

The tuberculosis-infected Atlanta lawyer had lawmakers worried about the continued vulnerabilities to terrorism the case exposed.

By Frank James

A quick guided tour to the some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush's attempts to de-escalate growing tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be tested Wednesday when the two leaders finally face each other in Germany at the G-8 meeting. Bush fueled the conflict when he accused Russia of backsliding on democracy under its current leader.

The ten declared Republican presidential candidates had a mostly civil debate in Manchester, N.H. in which they mainly supported the Iraq War though they at times criticized President Bush, sometimes sharply over the management of the war and immigration.

Globalization has helped keep inflation in check. But that restraint appears to be weakening, raising the prospect that central banks will have to boost interest rates.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Congress's disapproval rating rose in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, with only 44 percent approving of its performance and liberal Democrats most upset at the their party, which controls Congress, for not doing more to stop the Iraq War.

A federal appeals court overturned an indecency ruling against Fox Broadcasting, saying that inadvertently broadcasting indecency didn't violate the Federal Communication Commission's indecency rules and questioning the agency's power to police the airwaves for offensive language.

Military judges handed the Bush administration a setback in dismissing charges against two Guantanamo detainees, including one who was accused of committing a war crime when he was 15 years old. Experts said the ruling exposed a flaw that could affect all the government's cases against detainees.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most interesting or important (or both) Washington-related stories.

The Democratic presidential candidates went after each other on the Iraq War, with John Edwards, the former senator, accusing both senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama of not leading the opposition to the war and criticizing the quiet manner in which they recently voted against funding the war. Obama, who opposed the war before it started, struck back, saying Edwards, who voted for the war, was 4-1/2 years late to the opposition.

U.S. commanders in Iraq said they control less than a third of Baghdad's neighborhoods, far short of its goals at this point for the Iraq security surge. That failure stems in part from the Iraqi security forces not being provided at the levels that were expected and the poor performance of the Iraqi troops that have deployed.

At least 16 U.S. service members were killed since the start of June with most of the deaths resulting from roadside bombs as insurgents have adapted their strategies to maintain their lethality.

Democratic lawmakers are planning a series of Iraq votes over the summer meant to place increasing pressure on their Republican counterparts to split with President Bush by fall. Meanwhile, antiwar groups intend to raise the heat on vulnerable Republican lawmakers in their districts.

Iraqis working with Americans in the war-torn nation, amid the debate in the U.S. over troop withdrawals, are beseeching their employers to take them out of Iraq out of fear they would face bloody reprisals if they were to remain in to country.

Posted by Frank James at 6:45 am CDT

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Federal authorities identified the man with drug-resistant tuberculosis as Andrew Speaker, a 31-year old Atlanta lawyer whose trans-Atlantic travel may have exposed others to the potentially deadly disease. His father-in-law, a federal tuberculosis expert, denied any role in the infection. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Department officials said Andrew Speaker wasn't stopped by a U.S. Customs agent upon his return to the U.S. through Canada even though the officer saw his name on an alert list because the agent thought the patient appeared healthy.

U.S. authorities are trying to communicate directly with Muqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shiite cleric who commands a large following in Iraq, said Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the U.S. military's second-in-command there. But a Sadr aide said such talks were impossible.

President Bush proposed that the world's leading economic powers agree to specific limits on greenhouse gases. His proposal, which many greeted skeptically, came just before of the G-8 meeting in Germany next week but also after years of his rejection of other global attempts specific limits for the U.S.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin casts doubts on whether it was necessary to act on global warming, a position that appeared to place him at variance with President Bush.

Posted by Frank James at 7:20 am CDT

A quick guided tour of some the day's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related news stories.

Immigration-asylum seekers are likely to get different results depending on the gender and whether the judges worked previously for immigration-rights organizations, a job history more female than male judges are likely to have.

The United Nations Security Council voted for the first UN-backed tribunal ever in the Middle East. It would try suspects in the bombing assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister. Syrian agents are thought to have conducted the murder.

Presidential candidates are flocking to Florida and other states that have moved their primaries to earlier dates, greatly compressing the actual nominee-selection process but causing the primary and general-election campaigns to last significantly longer and be much more hectic and intense.

Posted by Frank James at 7:40 am CDT

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Ten U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq on Memorial Day, the Pentagon said, making May the deadliest month this year. Meanwhile, gunmen dressed as police kidnapped five Britons from an Iraqi ministry and more car bombings rocked Baghdad.

Congressional Republicans are hearing from more traditionally GOP voters who are increasingly questioning the Iraq War, which worries those lawmakers whose seats could be at risk because of the trend.

Robert Zoellick was named by President Bush to be the World Bank's new president to replace Paul Wolfowitz, forced to resign because of his controversial role in securing his girlfriend a high-paying job. Zoellick, a Goldman Sachs vice chairman, has already served the Bush Administration as U.S. Trade Representative and deputy Secretary of State.

Posted by Frank James at 6:35 am CDT

A quick guided tour of some of the day's most important or imteresting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Iraqi refugees driven out of their country by violence have increasingly turned to working as dancers in Syrian nightclubs or as prostitutes in the neighboring country.

Pressure mounts in Washington on President Bush and congressional Democrats to find an end to the Iraq War with the summer poised as a critical moment in determining the success or failure of the military surge.

American and Iranian diplomats met in Baghdad's Green Zone, the first such face-to-face meeting between emissaries of the two nations in nearly 30 years. But they agreed on very little except that they both thought Iraq's fortunes would improve if the other side left that war-torn nation.

The coal industry and its backers are pushing for large subsidies for liquefied versions of the fuel, saying it offers energy independence. But environmentalists say liquefied coal would worsen global warming.

Posted by Frank James at 7:15 am CDT

A quick guided tour to some of the day's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Congress passed a timeline-free Iraq War spending bill, ending the immediate impasse between congressional Democrats and President Bush. With more than $100 billion in funding for military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the bill contained benchmarks to be met by the Iraqi government and its passage shifted the focus of much of the war debate to September when the top U.S. military commander is scheduled to give an assessment of whether the surge of U.S. troops worked.

Sen. Hillary Clinton is unflatteringly portrayed in two new books by respected investigative journalists. The Democratic presidential candidate is depicted as self-righteous, secretive and calculating. Though her aides dismiss the books as offering little new, one volume reports that former President Bill Clinton and the senator have had a little known long-term plan whereby he would serve as president for two terms then she would follow.

The House passed a watered down ethics-reform bill that would force lobbyists to disclose the campaign contributions they collect and give candidates, a practice called bundling. Though Democrats campaigned last year on ending a congressional "culture of corruption," the opposition of many in the majority party defeated changes that would have made the reform bill tougher, including one that would have extended the ban on former lawmakers and congressional aides lobbying Congress from one to two years.

Posted by Frank James at 6:40 am CDT

A quick guided tour of some of today's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush once again selectively declassified intelligence to make the case for pursuing his approach to the Iraq War, saying in a Coast Guard Academy speech that Osama bin Laden had urged al Qaeda associates in Iraq to turn that country into a base for terror attacks against the U.S.

Monica Goodling, a former Justice Department aide, told the House Judiciary Committee that she crossed the line in taking political affiliations into account in hiring recommendations but wasn't responsible for singling out any of the eight U.S. attorneys fired under suspicious circumstances by the Bush Administration.

A body found in the Euphrates River in Iraq was confirmed by the military to be that of Army Pfc Joseph Anzack Jr., one of three soldiers who went missing after a recent ambush and were the subject of a massive manhunt by the U.S. military.

Posted by Frank James at 6:55 am CDT

A quick quided tour of some of the day's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Congressional Democrats removed timelines for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq from the Iraq War spending bill legislation, a difficult move for them since deadlines were central to showing war-weary voters that electing Democrats would bring results. Democrats sought to portray as a victory President Bush's acceptance of benchmarks for the Iraqi government.

Journalists embedded with U.S. troops intimately witnessed the challenges faced by soldiers taking part in the new security strategy for Iraq, with one officer whose unit has suffered repeated attack saying this latest stage of the war may come to be known as the enemies "surge, not ours." Meanwhile, a unit searching for three missing soldiers triggered a landmine, resulting in death, injuries, sorrow and touching expressions of camaraderie.

The massive new immigration bill survived an early test as an amendment that would have stripped out the key guest-worker provision was defeated. The debate exposed a rift among Democrats on the issue as many of them voted to discard the temporary-worker program.

Posted by Frank James at 7:30 am CDT

A quick guided tour of some of today's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Congressional Democrats, in a significant concession, dropped a timeline from their Iraq War spending legislation in a bid to send to President Bush a bill he will sign and also in recognition that they didn't have the votes to override his veto.

Immigration-reform legislation took hits from all sides as the debate began over legislation that would create a path to legalization for the 12 million illegal immigrants in the nation and make other major and controversial changes. The fierce criticism from so many quarters indicated how difficult it will be for the measure to pass.

Lebanon's military engaged in fierce fighting with a well-armed, little-known militant Islamist group sympathetic to al Qaeda that occupied a Palestinian refugee camp. It was another point of unneeded instability in the volatile Middle East.

Posted by Frank James at 6:34 am CDT

A quick guided tour of some of the day's the most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

The Bush Administration appears to be giving Iraq Study Group proposals it first ignored a second look as the White House moves towards accepting benchmarks for the Iraq government that would penalize that government by restricting funding if it failed to meet certain goals. U.S. officials will also meet with Iran in the hope that neighboring state can help stabilize the situation.

Illegal immigrant advocates and opponents both oppose the new immigration-reform agreement for different reasons, making the future of the proposal very uncertain. Advocates oppose changes that would make it harder to unite immigrant families while opponents view the proposal as offering amnesty.

Republicans have fallen behind Democrats in exploiting the Web for their candidates. No GOP candidate has anywhere near the YouTube, Facebook or MySpace presence of Sen. Barack Obama, for example. A GOP strategist who headed President Bush's 2004 Internet campaign says: "We're losing the Web right now."

Posted by Frank James at