Rasmussen Reports - The most recent Rasmussen Reports election poll in Montana shows incumbent Republican Senator Conrad Burns and Democrat Jon Tester tied at 47%. This month's results mark an improvement for Burns, who trailed Tester by seven points in last month's poll and by four points in May.

AP - Early voting in Maryland is illegal because the state's constitution allows only one day of voting, an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge ruled Friday.

An Associated Press-Ipsos poll conducted this week has revealed that President Bush's approval rating has dropped to 33 percent, matching his low in May. The drop in his popularity has been attributed to his decisions on Iraq war to foreign policy....

AP - The chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is retiring, citing personal reasons after coming under fire for the pace of reconstruction in Iraq and the failure of levees in New Orleans.

An Arizona judge has ruled Thursday that an initiative that would limit marriage to opposite-sex couples and restrict domestic partner benefits would be featured on the November ballot. Judge Douglas Rayes of Maricopa County Superior Court has not accepted the arguments that the limiting marriage...

Breaking the diplomatic barrier, the United States and France on Friday appear to be closer to a deal on a Security Council resolution aimed at ending the month long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. However, the last-minute Lebanese objections to the draft are yet to be solved....

The US government will now provide more aid based on financial need to various colleges after a national commission aimed with plotting the future of American higher education approved its final recommendations Thursday. The report sternly says American colleges have to be more accountable for...

A senior US Defense Department official says Washington is deeply concerned by Syria's "rising self-confidence" as it continues to support the enemies of Israel and America with no real repercussions. He said several chances to firmly influence Damascus had been missed, and hinted that Israel...

Reuters - A U.S. Senate bill that would impose steep tariffs on Chinese goods unless Beijing significantly raises the value of the yuan has little chance of becoming law, a visiting senator said on Friday.

AP - Republicans determined to win in November are up against a troublesome trend — growing opposition to President Bush.

AP - The Jack Abramoff lobbying case turns to the Interior Department on Friday, with a scheduled court appearance by a former employee accused of filing a false financial report.

A panel rules 17 lawsuits against telephone companies accused of illegally helping a government spy program must be consolidated into a California federal court. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered the class-action suits into the courtroom of Judge Vaughn Walker, who is already...

AP - A judge ruled Thursday that an initiative that would limit marriage to opposite-sex couples and restrict domestic partner benefits can go on the November ballot.

The U.S. Congress has requested for an inquiry into oil giant BP Plc.'s decision to stop operations of the nation's biggest oilfield in Alaska, Prudhoe Bay. The hearing is set for September 7 regarding the pipeline corrosion that forced its closure....

AP - With the political season heating up, reporters around New York are writing periodic blogs about the many national political figures they encounter on a regular basis — Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki to name a few.

AP - The CIA says it has provided short summaries of Vice President Dick Cheney's daily security briefings to defense attorneys for his indicted former chief of staff.

AP - The Bush administration drafted amendments to the War Crimes Act that would retroactively protect policymakers from possible criminal charges for authorizing any humiliating and degrading treatment of detainees, according to lawyers who have seen the proposal.

Porn star Mary Carey launches her latest campaign for California governor, three years after she was defeated by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Carey says her campaign is already running into trouble because she has only collected 40 of the 164,000 signatures needed to register as an independent...