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Don't look now, but the U.S.-backed government and army may be winning the war.[From the Washington Post!] THERE'S BEEN a relative lull in news coverage and debate about Iraq in recent weeks -- which is odd, because May could turn out to have been one of the most important months of the war. While Washington's attention has been fixed elsewhere, military analysts have watched with astonishment as the Iraqi government and army have gained control for the first time of the port city of Basra and the sprawling Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, routing the Shiite militias that have ruled...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California lawmakers won't have to worry about a multibillion budget deficit next year for the first time in four years thanks to an unexpected jump in tax income and ongoing spending cuts, according to a report released Wednesday. But Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill tempered the good news with a warning that the state has not solved its long-term spending problems and warned that big deficits will return in 2007-2008 unless additional steps are taken. "The state has to keep its foot on the gas peddle of getting its fiscal house in order," Hill said at a news...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryAugust 2, 2003 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, we received some encouraging news on the economy. The nation's economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter. Manufacturers are receiving more orders and their inventories need to be replenished, home builders are busy meeting near-record demand, and retailers report that consumers are buying more goods. Many economists expect that growth will accelerate in the coming months. Yet this week's employment report also shows that many Americans who want to work are still having trouble finding a job. My administration...

Business confidence in Germany rose unexpectedly in May, raising hopes of a better second half of the year for the economy. The industrial confidence index by the economics research institute Ifo rose to 87.6 from 86.6 in April. "Based on the new Ifo figures, the chances of an upturn in the second half of the year have improved," Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said in a statement. The index is now at its highest level since October 2002, after falling unexpectedly in April. Three months of the Ifo index either growing or contracting is the standard for indicating a trend, leaving...