ANALYSIS: Giving the war an image of victory, not a draw  —  Borrowing from the world of soccer beloved to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the Israel Defense Forces operation in Lebanon went into overtime on Monday.  —  Olmert wants to take another stab at a decisive conclusion before the UN Security Council blows the final whistle.

Castro relinquishes power before surgery  —  HAVANA - Fidel Castro temporarily relinquished his presidential powers to his brother Raul on Monday night and told Cubans he underwent surgery.  —  The Cuban leader said he had suffered gastrointestinal bleeding, apparently due to stress …

Ned Lamont on the Colbert Report  —  Stephen Colbert interviewed Ned Lamont tonight about the upcoming Connecticut primary.  —  Some rough transcript quotes from Ned: … Ned did an outstanding job at handling the tough interviews Stephen Colbert gives.  He was quick with the responses and presented his platform very well.

Democrats Unite on Iraq Withdrawal Demands  —  Twelve Democratic leaders of the House and Senate have urged President Bush in a strongly worded letter to begin withdrawing the 130,000 U.S. troops from Iraq by year's end, a sign that Democrats may be uniting on a key election-year issue that has divided the party.

Mel Gibson's Meltdown  —  HE IS SICK TO HIS EMPTY CORE WITH JEW-HATRED.  —  I was just in the middle of writing a long and tedious essay, about how to tell a real anti-Semite from a person who too-loudly rejects the charge of anti-Semitism, when a near-perfect real-life example came to hand.

Iran Hangs in Suspense as War Offers New Strength, and Sudden Weakness  —  These should be heady days for Iran's leaders.  Hezbollah, widely regarded as its proxy force in Lebanon, continues to rain down rockets on Israel despite 17 days of punishing airstrikes.

Passing Down the Legacy of Conservatism  —  SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Headed for what she called "conservative boot camp," Christina Pajak grabbed the essentials: dress sandals, her Bible and "The Politics of Prudence" by Russell Kirk, the celebrated writer who a half-century ago gave the conservative movement its name.

When is Israel Wrong?  —  A Rant.  As I've said, what does Israel realistically hope to accomplish?  —  I'm serious in asking this question.  If Israel isn't wrong right now, when will the US, the international community, the rest of the world, and Israelis ever admit that Israel does horribly atrocious things?

Appeals court hears from lawyers in DeLay ballot battle  —  NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals panel indicated today that the ability of Republicans to replace former U.S. Rep. Tom Delay on the ballot rests on whether there was "conclusive" evidence that he had moved to Virginia.

Gitmo Guards Often Attacked by Detainees  —  The prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay during the war on terror have attacked their military guards hundreds of times, turning broken toilet parts, utensils, radios and even a bloody lizard tail into makeshift weapons, Pentagon reports say.

Shooting exposes the war at home  —  Tension simmers here, but rarely reaches the surface  —  In intellectual Seattle, where even the most fractious political debates can be discussed over coffee, Friday's shooting at the Jewish Federation building left both pro- and anti-Israeli activists struggling …

Fla. Republicans won't back Rep. Harris  —  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The state Republican Party bluntly told Rep. Katherine Harris (news, bio, voting record) that she couldn't win this fall's Senate election and that the party wouldn't support her campaign, a letter obtained Monday by The Associated Press shows.

AMATEUR HOUR  —  On the Internet, everybody is a millenarian.  Internet journalism, according to those who produce manifestos on its behalf, represents a world-historical development—not so much because of the expressive power of the new medium as because of its accessibility to producers and consumers.