Top Iraqi's White House Visit Shows Gaps With U.S.  —  Iraqis buried their dead Monday from another suicide bombing.  Prime Minister Maliki has tried without success to end such violence.  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 24 — When Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki visits the White House on Tuesday …

Clinton Releases Proposals to Help the Middle Class  —  DENVER, July 24 — With divisions in the Democratic Party on full display nationwide, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to stake out the center here on Monday, issuing a broad policy platform geared toward helping middle-class voters …

A Proportionate Response is Madness  —  If by chance you have the search engine LexisNexis and you punch in the words "Israel'' and "disproportionate,'' you run the risk of blowing up your computer or darkening your entire neighborhood.  Just limiting the search to newspapers and magazines …

Spazeboy and Me Get Chucked By Holy Joe, Bush-Style  —  I drove all the way up to Waterbury yesterday excited about the prospect of seeing Bill Clinton speak.  Whatever one may think of Bill, his politics and his legacy, his defiance in the face of the right-wing hate machine onslaught are inspirational.

For One Senate Candidate, the 'R' Is a 'Scarlet Letter'  —  The candidate, immersed in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country, sat down to lunch yesterday with reporters at a Capitol Hill steakhouse and shared his views about this year's political currents.

50 percent of U.S. says Iraq had WMDs  —  Half of Americans now say Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when the United States invaded the country in 2003 — up from 36 percent last year, a Harris poll finds.  Pollsters deemed the increase both "substantial" and "surprising" …

Poll: Donnelly, Chocola in tight race  —  Pollster: Indicators say Chocola in trouble  —  Democratic challenger Joe Donnelly appears to have a slight edge in his bid to upset Republican incumbent Chris Chocola for the 2nd District congressional seat, according to a districtwide poll taken on behalf of The Tribune and WSBT-TV.

WAKING NIGHTMARES:  —  A week ago, I entertained a nightmare scenario whereby Moqtada Sadr sends his Mahdi Army militia to fight alongside Hezbollah.  The nightmare would be Israel attacking Sadr in retaliation for his attacks on the IDF or Israeli civilians, thereby prompting the inevitable …

Nice Rats, Nasty Rats: Maybe It's All in the Genes  —  On an animal-breeding farm in Siberia are cages housing two colonies of rats.  In one colony, the rats have been bred for tameness in the hope of mimicking the mysterious process by which Neolithic farmers first domesticated an animal still kept today.

60 years later, NPR's Schorr is still a 'precious resource'  —  The media mix By Peter Johnson  —  Daniel Schorr is used to producers popping into his Washington, D.C., office at National Public Radio to ask, on deadline: Which war came first, Korea or Vietnam?  (Answer: Korea.)

50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill  —  #1 Michelle Persaud, 27  —  Staff counsel  —  Michelle Persaud's delicate features burst into a smile as she describes the mistake many men make with her.  —  Seeing her dark eyes and mocha skin, her flowing black tresses and expansive lashes …