TIMES GIVES LEFTIES A HEFTY DISCOUNT FOR 'BETRAY US' AD  —  The New York Times dramatically slashed its normal rates for a full-page advertisement for MoveOn.org's ad questioning the integrity of Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.  —  Headlined "Cooking the Books …

Abu Risha murdered  —  I was in the middle of putting the finishing touches on an short piece about Iraqi Sunni politics due out later today when I got an urgent flash that Abd al-Sattar Abu Risha had been murdered in Anbar.  Nothing could have been more predictable than the murder of Abu Risha …

Clinton, Pelosi, Greenspan, Bloomberg, Gates, Annan Also Say Interviews 'Fakes'  —  Brian Ross Reports:  —  Former President Bill Clinton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Microsoft founder Bill Gates …

CT-Sen: Lamont would win rematch  —  Daily Kos commissioned the following poll from independent pollster Research 2000:  —  Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/10-12.  Likely voters.  MoE 4% (No trend lines) … Lieberman won 50-40-10 in 2006, so the poll tracks closely.

The Other Iraq Surge  —  A sharp increase in contributions from the military to Democrats suggests the Republican commander-in-chief and his party are losing the troops' support.  —  Assessed favorably this week by the war's lead general, the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq appears to be causing …

Dems Demand Boehner Apologize For "Small Price" Troop Deaths Remark  —  Okay, here we go.  —  Democratic leaders are now opening fire on GOP House leader John Boehner, demanding that he apologize for saying in an interview yesterday that troop deaths in Iraq would be a "small price" …

WOULD-BE TERRORIST CAPTURED IN DEARBORN  —  In a story that has gotten amazingly little national publicity, a medical student at Wayne State University named Houssein Zorkot was arrested in Dearborn Saturday night, dressed for combat and armed with an AK-47: … This report by a local television station is also interesting:

Bush speech to the nation: advance excerpts  —  Here are excerpts of the prepared text of President Bush's 9 p.m. Iraq address from the Oval Office, as released by the White House for use on dinnertime newscasts:  —  On keeping us safe here at home:  —  In Iraq, an ally of the United States is fighting for its survival.

Obama: Congress Won't Challenge Bush  —  MAQUOKETA, Iowa — Despite the unpopularity of the Iraq war, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama predicted Thursday that Congress won't directly challenge President Bush's plans and will focus instead on putting a ceiling on the number of troops deployed to that country.

Help Not Wanted  —  Almost immediately following the launch of Fred Thompson's long-anticipated presidential candidacy, important neutral Republicans decreed privately that it had crashed and burned on takeoff.  Many of these critics had wanted to board the Thompson campaign but were repelled by his "gatekeepers."

CALIFORNIA VOTERS CAN'T CHANGE THE 2008 ELECTION RULES ON THEIR OWN.  —  Republican presidential candidates are crossing the country promising voters that they'll pick judges who will be "strict constructionists" of the U.S. Constitution.  Meanwhile, Republican activists in California …

As Bush Prepares for 'Surge' Address Tonight: Here Is What He Promised in January Speech  —  NEW YORK With President Bush reportedly ready to endorse a full continuation of the "surge" in Iraq through next summer in a speech to the nation tonight, a look back at what he promised in his address …

Hsu letter appeared to be suicide note  —  The fundraiser sent it on the day of his second disappearance.  In it, he apologized to those to whom he donated.  —  On the day he disappeared, Norman Hsu, the disgraced fundraiser for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign …

FRED: NOT SURE ABOUT NATIONAL CAT FUND, SCHIAVO  —  THE VILLAGES — Republican Presidential hopeful Fred Thompson, addressing some Florida-specific questions for a Tampa Bay-area cable program, says he doesn't have an opinion about a national catastrophic insurance fund or the 2005 congressional intervention in the Terri Schiavo case.

43% Support Petraeus Recommendation, 38% Oppose  —  Forty-three percent (43%) of Americans favor the recommendation made by General David Petraeus to withdraw 30,000 soldiers from Iraq but leave 130,000 troops in place at least through the summer.  A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found …

Researcher: Bin Laden's beard is real, video is not  —  On the Friday before the sixth anniversary of 9/11, Osama bin Laden appeared in a new video, his first since prior to the U.S. presidential elections in 2004.  In analyzing the video, Neal Krawetz of Hactor Factor, an expert on digital image forensics …