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The Republican-controlled Senate failed to advance legislation defunding sanctuary cities and increasing minimum punishments for previously-deported illegal aliens caught breaking back into the U.S. on Wednesday, gaining only 53 and 55 votes, respectively; 60 were needed to proceed w/both bills. Sponsored by Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, bill would have stripped funding from jurisdictions refusinh to cooperate w/federal immigration authorities when arresting illegal aliens suspected of committing further crimes and work to prevent lawful deportation proceedings. Immigration enforcement advocates have called Kate’s Law, introduced by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, “mainly symbolic,” with Center for Immigration Studies president Mark Kirkorian...

Italy's highest court ruled that telling a man he has "no balls" as an insult is a crime punishable with a fine because it hurts male pride in a ruling on a curious row between two cousins. The case was brought to the supreme court by a lawyer named only as Vittorio against his cousin Alberto, a justice of the peace, for the phrase uttered during a heated courtroom exchange in the southern Italian city of Potenza. "Apart from the vulgarity of the term used, the expression definitely also has an injurious quality," the male judge, Maurizio Fumo, said in...

(Vancouver, WA) Over 10 years in Congress, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird has stayed tethered to his district, flying back to Southwest Washington for more than 300 sometimes-bruising town hall meetings during Congressional recesses. But this year, he's literally decided to phone it in. Instead of appearing in person, where "extremists" would have "the chance to shout and make YouTube videos," Baird said Wednesday, he's holding what he calls "telephone town halls" instead. Baird said he's using the new system because he fears his political opponents may be planning "an ambush" to disrupt his meetings, using methods Baird compared to Nazism....

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Thursday the Supreme Court was "moving the ball" on affirmative action in this week's decision favoring white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., but he added that the court had not ruled out the use of racial preferences in the future.

John McCain says Sarah Palin didn't hurt his presidential bid and he attributes anonymous criticism aimed at her following their loss last week to typical campaign sniping. --snip-- The Arizona senator tells Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" the Republican ticket faced a tough challenge from the start but disputed that a different vice presidential pick would have changed the outcome. He had only kind words for the Alaska governor and her family. But he didn't directly address criticism from unidentified McCain operatives ...

Let's Get Ready to Rummmmmble!FIGHT NIGHT IN VEGAS Clinton campaign: Hillary would win in a landslide if the election were tomorrow>

Britain hopes to send a top navy officer to Tehran to deliver a face-saving compromise that will ensure the release of 15 captive British naval personnel, Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported yesterday. The British government will send the officer to Tehran to promise that the Royal Navy will never knowingly enter Iranian waters without permission, according to a plan cited by The Sunday Telegraph. The compromise, which would involve dispatching a navy captain or a commodore to Iran, was raised at a meeting of a senior government crisis committee on Saturday, the newspaper reported. Mullah-run television aired new footage of two...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist spoke by video to the first "Justice Sunday" evangelical rally in April, but he wasn't invited to address "Justice Sunday II," even though it's in his home state of Tennessee. Since the first rally, the potential 2008 presidential candidate has angered the events' organizers by stating his support for expanded human embryonic stem cell research. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, was invited to speak at the Aug. 14 rally. Family Research Council president Tony Perkins said Tuesday on the group's Web site that Frist's recently announced stem cell stance "reflects an unwise...

Complaint Against Kerry, CBS Dismissed By SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writer 7 minutes ago Election officials have thrown out a complaint against John Kerry's presidential campaign and CBS over a now-discredited story that questioned President Bush's National Guard service. The Federal Election Commission, in a 6-0 ruling, said there was no reason to believe the allegations raised by the Center for Individual Freedom over the story that aired on CBS' "60 Minutes Wednesday" in September. The politically conservative group contended the report amounted to an illegal election-time advertisement against Bush that was financed with corporate money; that CBS improperly coordinated...

Monday's Ratings: Raw Numbers All of Monday's raw ratings, for your reading pleasure: Primetime, total viewers: FNC: 1,801,000 / CNN: 753,000 / MSNBC: 291,000 Primetime, 25-54: FNC: 385,000 / CNN: 199,000 / MSNBC: 95,000 Total day, total viewers: FNC: 870,000 / CNN: 379,000 / MSNBC: 178,000 Total day, 25-54: FNC: 260,000 / CNN: 117,000 / MSNBC: 61,000 FNC: Shep: 1,156,000 / O'Reilly: 2,162,000 / H&C: 1,630,000 / Greta: 1,612,000 CNN: Cooper: 409,000 / Zahn: 588,000 / King: 987,000 / Brown: 683,000 MSNBC: Hardball: 272,000 / Olbermann: 396,000 / Abrams 9pm: 192,000 / Scarborough: 286,000 CNBC: Miller: 133,000 / Deutsch: 54,000...

BILOXI - U.S. Sen. Trent Lott doesn't believe Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign immediately, but he does think Rumsfeld should be replaced sometime in the next year. "I'm not a fan of Secretary Rumsfeld," Lott, R-Mississippi, told the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday morning. "I don't think he listens enough to his uniformed officers." Rumsfeld has been criticized since a soldier asked him last week why the combat vehicles used in the war in Iraq don't have the proper armor. Both Rumsfeld and President Bush have said more vehicle armor will be shipped to Iraq. Lott said the...

Here's a peek behind the cable TV curtain. It's not pretty. So, my publicist arranges for me to go on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews on Thursday night to talk about my recent columns on the FBI and national security profiling and my new book. Despite the show's basement ratings, we figure it's a good opportunity to reach out to a new audience. FOX News, with whom I have a contract, has generously allowed me to appear on some competing networks to talk about the book. Thursday was the second to the last day that I could make such appearances....

Given the last few days he has had with his medals (or is it ribbons?) controversy, John Kerry needed a break. He got one last night on Chris Matthews' program, Hardball. Doing everything he could to not live up to the program's famous name, Matthews lobbed one meaty pitch after another at the presumptive Democratic nominee. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that Matthews, for some reason, has an affinity for Massachusetts politicians. A portent of what was to come occurred in the lead-in. A taped congratulatory note from Senator John McCain on Hardball's 7th Anniversary prompted Matthews...

Since I am approaching my one year anniversary of being a "freeper" and since I have never contributed a dime to FR, jim or the republican party, I am going to beat the powers to be at FR and voluntarily leave, rather than have them come up with one of the cock and bull stories to ban me. Been fun,Bye