Compiled by Stephen Bach, CNN Washington Bureau

Making news today…

* FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents searched the Alaska home of veteran Sen. Ted Stevens Monday amid a corruption probe that has already snared two oil-company executives and a state lobbyist.

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Stevens "has long been the most powerful political figure in Alaska, and a major force in Congress. A swarm of federal agents serving a search warrant at his home is unprecedented in Alaska politics." (Anchorage Daily News)

"The three members of Alaska's congressional delegation, Stevens, Senator Lisa Murkowski and Representative Don Young — all Republicans — are facing ethical questions." (Bloomberg)

* Chief Justice John Roberts suffered a seizure Monday, causing him to fall while at his summer home off the coast of Maine, the Supreme Court said.

Roberts has "fully recovered from the incident," and a neurological evaluation "revealed no cause for concern," the Supreme Court said in a statement.

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* PROGRAMMING NOTE: Vice President Dick Cheney appears tonight on CNN's Larry King Live at 9 pm ET.

* CNN's Ed Henry reports "the president spent just about the entire" joint press availability with new UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday "trying to convince the world he and Brown really can be BFF's in a post-Blair era."

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However, the "two leaders showed none of the warmth and coziness that Mr. Bush had shared with Mr. Brown's predecessor." (New York Times)

* Fred Thompson's testing-the-waters committee "raised a little more than $3 million in June." The figure "was less than the $5 million that Mr. Thompson's supporters had hoped for and has met with some disappointment inside his camp, which has also been buffeted in recent days by staff defections and high-level disagreements." (New York Times)

Also, Spencer Abraham, who was "noticeably absent" from Thompson's fundraiser at the J.W. Marriott last night, "is not, and was never going to be, Thompson's campaign manager, only an informal adviser and supporter." (Yeas and Nays)

* John Edwards is taking on the press: "From picking fights with conservative media like the Fox News Channel and writer Ann Coulter, Edwards has moved on to public clashes with The New York Times, Slate and the 'mainstream media' at large." (The Politico)

He and Elizabeth kept alive their anniversary tradition by celebrating their 30th at Wendy's yesterday. (AP) 

* And one Golden State lawmaker "wants to put a proposal on the California ballot next year that could shake up the 2008 presidential contest." How? Find out in Hot Topics below.

President's Schedule:

* No public events.

Also on the Political Radar:

* The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a 9:30 am ET confirmation hearing on the nominations of Adm. Michael Mullen for re-appointment to the grade of Admiral and to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and James Cartwright for re-appointment to the grade of General and to be Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

* Rudy Giuliani attends a 10 am ET town hall at The Governor's Inn in Rochester, NH. He later holds a 3:15 pm ET presser Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, CT.

* Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) visits Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. in Johnston, IA, at 10 am ET. He'll "shoot firearms and discuss gun rights" at the Izaak Walton League chapter in Ames at 2 pm ET.

At 5 pm ET, Brownback gives a "major speech on Iraq" at the Des Moines Embassy Club.

* Mitt Romney and VA Lt. Governor Bill Bolling host an 11:30 am ET media availability at the Omni Hotel in Richmond, VA.

* Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) fundraises at a private residence in Cincinnati, OH.

* Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) addresses the Iowa State Education Association Summer Conference at 9 pm ET in Storm Lake, IA.

* Sen. Joe Biden's (D-DE) new book, "Promises to Keep," is released. 

Biden appears on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

* The Senate Radio-Television Correspondents' Gallery Daybook

* The House Radio-Television Correspondents' Gallery Daybook

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Political Hot Topics
(Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country)

CHENEY SAYS HE DISAGREED WITH LIBBY VERDICT, STANDS BY AG: Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that he is a "big fan" of embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. In a interview with CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller, the vice president also said Gonzales has been truthful in his testimony before Congress. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy, a Democrat, has said he doesn't trust Gonzales, but Cheney said the attorney general has the support of the only man who really counts. "I've had my differences with Pat Leahy," Cheney said. "I think the key is whether or not he (Gonzales) has the confidence of the president — and he clearly does." Cheney also discussed the case of his former top aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. President Bush commuted the 2½-year prison term Libby received following his conviction in the CIA leak case. The vice president said he disagreed with the jury's guilty verdict. "You asked me if I disagreed with the verdict, and I did," he said. CBSNews.com: Cheney Hails His Pal Al 

"BUSH IN TWILIGHT": IS "SCALED-BACK AGENDA" ACHIEVABLE? Once the champion of big reforms, Bush in twilight is on the defensive and pushing secondary initiatives. Instead of partial privatization of Social Security, which died in 2005, or overhauling immigration, which was killed this year, he wants to: roll back Democrats' social spending; enact a limited expansion of his No Child Left Behind school testing program; push modest energy programs that reduce dependence on foreign oil; win approval of a handful of regional free-trade deals. While Bush may prevail in some spending fights, few politicians or historians say much of his scaled-back agenda is achievable in the waning days of an unpopular presidency. "With that bully pulpit, you can never rule him out," said Senator Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican. "But no, I don't think he'll get anything more done." Bloomberg: Bush Scales Back Agenda to Schools, Trade, Energy as Clout Ebbs 

NO "WARMTH AND COZINESS" BETWEEN BUSH, BROWN: On his first official trip to the United States as Britain's prime minister, Gordon Brown on Monday displayed what can best be described as a resounding — if dispassionate — show of like-minded camaraderie with President Bush. The two leaders showed none of the warmth and coziness that Mr. Bush had shared with Mr. Brown's predecessor, Tony Blair, a closeness that contributed to Mr. Blair's political tumble at home. But Mr. Brown offered bullish comments on Britain's relationship with the United States. On Iraq, Mr. Brown said any future British decision to reduce troops and cede control of a sector to the Iraqis "will be made on the military advice of our commanders on the ground." New York Times: Bush and Brown Are Allies if Not Buddies 

FBI, IRS AGENTS RAID STEVENS' HOME IN ALASKA: Federal law enforcement agents raided U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' Alaska home in Girdwood on Monday, hauling off undisclosed items from inside and taking extensive pictures and video. Officials wouldn't say what they were looking for or what they found. "All I can say is that agents from the FBI and IRS are currently conducting a search at that residence," Dave Heller, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Anchorage office, said Monday. Neighbors said agents showed up between 11 a.m. and noon, and a commercial locksmith was called to open the front door. The agents were still there at 8:30 p.m. Stevens, 83, has long been the most powerful political figure in Alaska, and a major force in Congress. Anchorage Daily News: Federal agents raid Sen. Ted Stevens' Girdwood home

WATCHDOG CALLS FOR STEVENS TO STEP ASIDE TEMPORARILY FROM COMMITTEES: The nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense will call on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to follow the lead of House Republican leaders and ask Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to step down temporarily from his positions on the Commerce, Science and Transportation and Appropriations committees until a federal investigation of his activities is completed… According to a source with the group, this will be the first time TCS has ever made such an appeal. But the organization will argue in a letter to McConnell that given the current public concern with Congressional ethics, he should take a path similar to one the House GOP leadership has followed and request that Stevens relinquish his seats on the two powerful committees until the investigation is completed. Roll Call: Watchdog Seeks Stevens' Temporary Removal From Committees 

NEW ETHICS PACKAGE UNVEILED: House and Senate Democrats on Monday unveiled an ethics package they touted as the strongest reform in decades, attracting bitter criticism from Republicans who vowed to fight the bill's altered earmark-transparency rules. The majority re-drafted the ethics bill after Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) held up conference talks by seeking assurances of the earmark language's fate. Many provisions already approved by both chambers remained intact, including stronger disclosure rules for lobbyists and curbs on corporate jet travel. But the new measure's treatment of earmarking, which conservatives consider the root of recent congressional scandals, sparked immediate contention. The Hill: Dems unveil ethics plan 

NCLB "ARCHITECT" PROPOSES CHANGES: The chairman of the House education committee, an original architect of the federal No Child Left Behind law, said Monday that he wanted to change the law so that annual reading and math tests would not be the sole measure of school performance, but that other indicators like high school graduation rates and test scores in other subjects would also be taken into account. "Our legislation will continue to place strong emphasis on reading and math skills," the chairman, Representative George Miller, Democrat of California, said at the National Press Club. "But it will allow states to use more than their reading and math test results to determine how well schools and students are doing." New York Times: Crucial Lawmaker Outlines Changes to Education Law 

HOUSE PASSES HONDA'S JAPAN APOLOGY RESOLUTION: The House passed a resolution Monday calling on Japan to finally formally apologize to tens of thousands of "comfort women" forced into World War II sex slavery, despite vigorous lobbying by the Japanese government. The measure sponsored by Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, which culminated years of lobbying by the surviving women from several Asian and European countries and their supporters, passed by voice vote after about a half hour of debate in which no one spoke in opposition. To people in the United States, the issue is just one of many obscure foreign matters on which Congress weighs in with nonbinding resolutions. San Francisco Chronicle: House wants Japan apology 

BILL CLINTON, AT DLC, REFERS TO OBAMA-HILLARY SPAT: Former President Clinton on Monday briefly alluded to the weeklong spat between his wife and rival Democrat Barack Obama over meeting with leaders of rogue nations. Last Monday, Obama said he would hold such sessions with the leaders of Syria, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea without preconditions, a notion Hillary Rodham Clinton rejected. She argued that she would not meet with leaders without knowing their intentions. The feud between the two candidates escalated as they traded charges. Clinton called Obama "naive" while Obama referred to her as "Bush-Cheney lite." "I don't want to get in the middle of that whole spat Hillary and Senator Obama had, but there's more than one way to practice diplomacy," Bill Clinton told a gathering of the Democratic Leadership Council. He said all the major Democratic candidates had "a vigorous agreement on the big question, which is 'Should we have more diplomacy?' The answer is yes. Then you can parse their answers to the specific questions and decide who you think is right." AP via Yahoo! News: Clinton mentions Democratic spat 

WILL CHELSEA BE "THE FIRST FIRST CHILD TWICE OVER?" Asked which parent Chelsea Clinton most resembles, friends tick through the mother-daughter similarities. There is the habit of pre-empting questions by asking lots of them. The passionate interest in health care. The tendency to sound a bit scripted when talking about policy, even in private. The way both borrowed on family contacts to establish post-White House careers, but won over skeptical colleagues with their diligence and enthusiasm. And if her mother, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, manages to become the first female president of the United States, Chelsea Clinton could be in a historic, head-spinning position of her own: the first first child twice over. New York Times: A Second Stint as First Daughter? 

OBAMA'S "DELICATE BALANCE": Sen. Barack Obama is striking a delicate balance to capture black voters but avoid becoming the stereotype that has sunk past black hopefuls for the White House. The Illinois Democrat is running ads in South Carolina to shore up support among black voters and told a black audience Friday his election would create a "transformation" of U.S. race relations. However, political analysts and prominent black leaders observing the 2008 presidential race say Mr. Obama, who trails Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton among blacks, has not locked up the community's vote. "He's not running for president of black America, but for all of America, but he has to be particularly sensitive not to lose out on this crucial voting bloc," said political consultant Morris Reid, managing director at the Westin Rinehart Group. "Most African-American candidates running for president thus far have not had such a mainstream message." Washington Times: Obama walks a fine line to avoid black stereotyping 

JOHN EDWARDS VS. THE MEDIA: If politicians ever heeded the old warning about avoiding fights with people who "buy their ink by the barrel," they aren't anymore — certainly not John Edwards. Republicans in the 1990s got over their fear of the press and instead turned the "liberal media" into an object of enmity, a populist punching bag and an organizing tool. But Edwards, the former North Carolina senator, is the first major Democratic candidate for president to embrace the growing impulse within his party to follow that GOP model. From picking fights with conservative media like the Fox News Channel and writer Ann Coulter, Edwards has moved on to public clashes with The New York Times, Slate and the "mainstream media" at large. The Politico: Edwards applies full-court press against media 

RUDY ON HEALTHCARE: LET'S AVOID "CUBAN AND EUROPEAN PRINCIPLES": Rudy Giuliani expands the policy debate on the Republican side of the presidential race today, becoming the first major GOP contender to offer a detailed plan to address an issue that polls consistently show ranks high among voter concerns: healthcare… To varying degrees, the major Democratic candidates have been ahead of the Republican pack in offering specific ways they would attack healthcare problems, especially the complex challenges of controlling costs and providing insurance for the almost 45 million Americans who lack it. In line with the parties' differing philosophies, the Democrats envision a more aggressive role for the federal government in pursuing these goals. Giuliani, in making the preliminary case Monday for his prescription, asserted that the way to repair the healthcare system "is by relying on American principles, not Cuban and European principles, like the Democrats want to do." Los Angeles Times: Giuliani wades deeper into health care policy 

CA LAWMAKER PROPOSES NEW DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTORAL VOTES: A prominent Republican lawyer wants to put a proposal on the California ballot next year that could shake up the 2008 presidential contest, a change Democrats say would rig the election. California awards its cache of 55 electoral votes to the statewide winner in presidential elections — the largest single prize in the nation. But under the proposal, the statewide winner would get only two electoral votes. The rest would be distributed to the winning candidate in each of the state's congressional districts. In effect, that would create 53 races, each with one electoral vote up for grabs. The left-leaning state has voted Democratic in the last four presidential elections. But the change — if it qualifies for one of two primary ballots next year and is approved by voters — would mean that a Republican would be positioned the following November to snatch 20 or more electoral votes in GOP-leaning districts. AP via Yahoo! News: Calif. plan could sway 2008 race