IDF: Nasrallah talk less bellicose  —  An Israel Defense Forces analysis of the messages transmitted by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah to his men during the fighting in Lebanon reveals a slightly different tone from the one he took in three public television interviews …

Al-Qaida calls for holy war against Israel  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader issued a worldwide call Thursday for Muslims to rise up in a holy war against Israel and join the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza until Islam reigns from "Spain to Iraq."  —  In the message broadcast …

Tour de France winner failed drug test in race  —  Team to dismiss Landis if excessive level of testosterone confirmed  —  Tour de France champion Floyd Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race, his Phonak team said Thursday on its Web site.

John Bolton, Multilateralist?  —  LAST YEAR we expressed reservations about President Bush's nomination of John R. Bolton to the post of ambassador to the United Nations.  Mr. Bolton's intellect and competence were not in doubt, and attempts to paint him as an office bully were underwhelming.

Harris stays in  —  Katherine Harris won't quit, while fellow Republican primary contender LeRoy Collins announced 26 days ago that he's starting the race.  —  With a beaming smile and a Starbucks coffee cup in hand — "triple Venti, no fat, no foam, extra hot, with pink sugar" …

'Waiting to Get Blown Up'  —  Some Troops in Baghdad Express Frustration With the War and Their Mission  —  BAGHDAD, July 26 Army Staff Sgt. Jose Sixtos considered the simple question about morale for more than an hour.  But not until his convoy of armored Humvees had finally rumbled …

Chicago Council Passes 'Living Wage' Act  —  CHICAGO — The City Council brushed aside warnings from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to approve an ordinance that makes Chicago the biggest city in the nation to require big-box retailers to pay a "living wage."  —  The ordinance, which passed 35-14 Wednesday …

A Few Questions  —  Why does the president call the secretary of state "Condi"?  And what exactly is his philosophy?  —  Why does President Bush refer in public to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as "Condi"?  Did Dwight Eisenhower call his Secretary of State "Johnny"?

Iran: The Next War  —  Even before the bombs fell on Baghdad, a group of senior Pentagon officials were plotting to invade another country.  Their covert campaign once again relied on false intelligence and shady allies.  But this time, the target was Iran.  BY JAMES BAMFORD

Jury Finds Yates Not Guilty in Drownings  —  After being acquitted by reason of insanity in her children's bathtub drowning deaths, Andrea Yates won't spend her life in prison - but she will be committed to a state mental hospital.  —  One day after her acquittal, Yates will learn Thursday …

Acid Tests  —  No Child Left Behind is beyond uninformative.  It is deceptive.  —  Test scores are the last refuge of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).  They have to be, because so little else about the act is attractive.  —  NCLB takes a giant step toward nationalizing elementary …

CNN or CBN?  Phillips asks apocalypse authors: "[A]re we living in the last days?" … For the second time in three days, CNN featured a segment on the potential coming of the Apocalypse, as indicated by current conflicts in the Middle East.  The July 26 edition of CNN's Live From …

House Panel Faults Pace of U.S. Intelligence Overhaul  —  A House subcommittee has concluded that the Bush administration has been slow to implement major changes in information sharing and other key provisions of the 2004 law that overhauled the U.S. intelligence community.

Security cabinet decides against expanding Lebanon operation  —  The security cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, decided Thursday morning against expanding the Israel Defense Forces operation in southern Lebanon, Israel Radio reported.  —  The discussion came a day after nine IDF troops …

A Winning Strategy for the Democrats: Barter for Free Trade  —  To understand why Democrats can't win elections, all you had to do was attend yesterday's symposium at the Brookings Institution put on by the Hamilton Project, an effort by the (Bill) Clinton economic braintrust to generate new ideas and a Democratic election agenda.

Administration and Critics, in Senate Testimony, Clash Over Eavesdropping Compromise  —  WASHINGTON, July 26 — Senior Bush administration officials said Wednesday that it would be impractical for them to obtain individual warrants every time they needed to eavesdrop on a conversation suspected of involving Al Qaeda.

A message for Democrats  —  WASHINGTONNANCY PELOSI bared fangs to show that the Democratic Party no longer has toothless gums.  On national security, she said, ``When you think of women and defense and security, think of a lioness.  You come anywhere near our cubs, you're dead.

Best of the Web  —  War on Words  —  Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki spoke this morning to a joint meeting of Congress, and some Democrats seized an opportunity to burnish their credentials as supporters of Israel, CNN reports: … Well, what exactly did al-Maliki say?  Here are some quotes:

BACK TO BAGHDAD  —  THE NEW STRUGGLE IN IRAQ  —  July 27, 2006 — WHEN I visited Baghdad in March, there was no civil war.  There is no civil war in Iraq today.  But it's beginning to look as if there might be one tomorrow.  —  Something vital has changed.  In Baghdad.