Nasrallah speaks, vows surprises  —  Hizbullah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, spoke for the first Thursday since the beginning of the week, saying Hizbullah's entire infrastructure and leadership hierarchy were still intact and functional.  —  "I can confirm without exaggerating …

Joe Lieberman: Running Against Himself  —  Joe Lieberman's appropriation of the Rovian politics of projection in this race has been acute.  He's accused Ned Lamont being a flip-flopper on Iraq, when in fact it was Joe who voted for a permanent presence there and has now changed his mind.

In Spain, anti-Semitism is new leftist trend  —  Spanish Jews knew there were hard times ahead.  Prime Minister Zapatero has not disappointed them  —  Madrid: Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain and Secretary General of the Socialist Party, arrived to power at a time nobody expected, not even inside the Party.

President Bush Addresses NAACP Convention  —  BUSH: Thank you very much.  —  Bruce, thanks for your introduction.  —  Bruce is a polite guy.  I thought what he was going to say, "It's about time you showed up."  —  Ain't I glad I did?  —  See, I see this as a moment of opportunity.

GOP Lawmakers Edge Away From Optimism on Iraq  —  Faced with almost daily reports of sectarian carnage in Iraq, congressional Republicans are shifting their message on the war from speaking optimistically of progress to acknowledging the difficulty of the mission and pointing up mistakes in planning and execution.

Marriott Hotels Ban Smoking In Rooms  —  Marriott International Inc., the nation's largest hotel chain, said yesterday that it will ban smoking in its nearly 400,000 hotel rooms in the United States and Canada, casting the decision as less about public health and more about taking care of the bottom line.

Response to right-wing personal attacks  —  As I've noted several times in the last couple of weeks, my focus on the lawlessness, extremist rhetoric and violence-inciting tactics of the Bush movement and its followers in the blogosphere has triggered a slew of posts on multiple blogs devoted …

CREW FEC COMPLAINT AGAINST REP. DELAY PAC - ARMPAC - RESULTS IN $115,000 FINE  —  One of Largest Fines in FEC History  —  Washington, DC - Last night, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) released a conciliation agreement reached with Americans for a Republican Majority political action committee …

Judge Gives Wal-Mart Reprieve on Benefits  —  In a setback to state efforts to force employers to provide more generous health benefits, a federal judge yesterday struck down a Maryland law that was aimed at the nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores.  —  The judge ruled that the federal …

House overwhelmingly backs Israel in vote  —  WASHINGTON - The House, displaying a foreign affairs solidarity lacking on issues like Iraq, voted overwhelmingly Thursday to support Israel in its confrontation with Hezbollah guerrillas.  —  The resolution, which was passed on a 410-8 vote, also condemns enemies of the Jewish state.