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CNN: U.S. troops may leave by 2011, Iraqi officials say
Iraq and the United States are close to reaching a deal under which U.S. combat troops would leave by December 2010 and the rest would leave by the end of 2011, two Iraqi officials said Thursday.

USA Today: Flip-flops more fashionable this election
Models of consistency they are not. But because of who they are and the times they are running in, political analysts say, presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain are not likely to be felled by charges of flip-flopping.

LA Times: McCain ad plays up Democrats' praise of him
The montage includes Clinton, Kerry, Biden and Dean - and sets off a flurry of retractions.

Financial Times: Democratic jitters as Obama heads home
Few people are more likely to need a holiday than Barack Obama. Yet as he heads off on Friday for his first week-long break since he launched his presidential bid 19 months ago, Mr Obama is dogged by rising angst about his campaign’s direction.

CNN Radio: Heck no, they won’t go!
House GOP members vow to keep up their daily protests on the House floor for at least two more weeks. Also, democratic unity remains unsettled (at least in the eyes of some) as talk abounds of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s name being added to the ballot in Denver. And finally, the Secret Service takes action on what they see as a serious threat. Bob Costantini has today's CNN Radio Political Ticker.

The Australian: Find your inner maverick, McCain's brother tells him
WHITE House hopeful John McCain's younger brother Joe has been telling the senator he will need to rediscover his maverick self if he is to win the presidency.

LA Times: McCain, Obama tiptoe across vice presidential minefield
For both candidates, the goal is the same: Who will help them while angering the fewest people?

WSJ: Candidates Name Half-Million-Dollar Teams
The 2008 presidential campaign has led to a new category of mega-fund-raiser: the $500,000 political bundler. Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain have between them released the names of 98 supporters who each have raised at least half a million dollars for their campaigns from relatives, associates and employees.

CNN: New Details: Man held for alleged Obama assassination threat
A man was being held in Florida on Thursday on charges he told classmates at a training seminar that he would kill Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama if he is elected, according to a law enforcement official and court documents

NY Times: Politically Divided Talk-Radio Team Has Denver Firmly in Its Grip
It takes just a few minutes for Dan Caplis and Craig Silverman to start castigating each other over their favorite topic. “No doubt in my mind that John McCain will do a far better job of protecting Israel and the United States from these wackos in Iran,” Mr. Caplis says, his hands gesticulating around his microphone. Mr. Silverman fires back, “Right there, I think your partisanship is showing.”

NY Times: Minnesota Governor Looks to National Stage
As is his way, Gov. Tim Pawlenty made a self-deprecating aside on a local radio show this spring during the ceremonial start of the state’s beloved fishing season.

WSJ: McCain Web Ad Is Accused Of Linking Obama to Antichrist
An Internet ad launched last week by the McCain presidential campaign has attracted more than one million hits by appearing to mock Barack Obama for presenting himself as a kind of prophetic figure.

Financial Times: Daschle in talks on ethanol lobby job
One of Barack Obama’s most important backers is in talks to become an adviser to the Renewable Fuels Association, the most powerful ethanol lobby in the US capital.

Politico: Rice says surge helps McCain, Obama
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she understands some of the questions Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) raised about the surge policy in Iraq, but she says today's conditions in the war zone would be only "wishful thinking" without it.

Politico: Schumer: 'Hit McCain Harder'
One of the Democratic Party's leading electoral street fighters, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, said that Barack Obama should respond to John McCain's personal attacks with an equally personal slap.

LA Times: DHL deal gone sour haunts McCain in Ohio
The firm may close its hub, imperiling nine county economies. Campaign aide lobbied for parent company.

LA Times: In wake of Hillary Clinton bid, Democrats' platform may denounce sexism
Members of WomenCount had asked for language demanding that party leaders condemn gender bias. A draft of the document does, sort of.

NY Times: Roles of Clintons at Convention Start to Clear
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton asked the question herself, on the last night of the primaries in June: “What does Hillary want?”

CNN: Bill Clinton to speak at Democratic convention
Former President Clinton will speak at the Democratic National Convention, three sources said Thursday. Clinton will speak August 27, the night of the vice presidential nominee's speech, in Denver, Colorado, the sources said.

Washington Post: Democratic Aides Working on Plan To Keep the Peace At the Convention
With the clock running out on preparations for the Democratic convention, advisers to Sen. Barack Obama are scrambling to reach a compromise with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to appease her supporters and find roles for her and her husband.

NY Times: What Does Hillary Want?
Senator Hillary Clinton asked the question herself on the night of the last primaries in early June: “What does Hillary want?” That’s still a bit of a mystery, particularly as she and Senator Barack Obama negotiate over her role, and possibly that of her husband, at the Democratic convention in Denver and beyond.

NY Times: Group Plans Campaign Against G.O.P. Donors
Nearly 10,000 of the biggest donors to Republican candidates and causes across the country will probably receive a foreboding “warning” letter in the mail next week.

CNN: McCain campaign to return about $50,000 in donations
John McCain’s campaign announced Thursday night that it’s returning about $50,000 in contributions believed to be brought in by a foreign citizen.

CNN: GOP leaders to continue protests over drilling
As most of Congress continues its August break, House Minority Leader John Boehner wants to continue a rare protest in the chamber for at least another two weeks to force a vote on offshore drilling.

Washington Post: Bolten, Miers Ask Judge to Delay Order; Aides Continue to Contest Subpoenas
White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers yesterday asked a federal judge to delay an order to cooperate with Congress while they appeal the ruling.

AP: Loophole in tobacco regulation bill
A loophole in a sweeping tobacco regulation bill would give the industry a 21-month window to introduce some new products without first getting federal approval.

Chicago Tribune: McCain: Obama 'wants to forfeit' Iraq
"Sen. Obama says he wants peace," Sen. John McCain said today at a town hall-styled rally in Lima, Ohio, but the Democratic candidate for president will not acknowledge the success of the surge in Iraq.

Washington Times: Obama persona inspires comedians
Barack Obama's carefully choreographed persona as an unassailable agent of hope has come into the cross hairs of a dangerous foe – the late-night comic.

AP: Island life in multiracial Hawaii shaped Obama
The diverse culture of the nation's 50th state — and the island nature of Hawaii itself — shaped Barack Obama's view of the world and the politics he would practice.

LA Times: Anthrax investigation should be investigated, congressmen say
Sen. Charles Grassley and Rep. Rush Holt want hearings into the Justice Department and FBI's handling of the case.

AP: Scientists create stem cells for 10 disorders
Harvard scientists say they have created stems cells for 10 genetic disorders, which will allow researchers to watch the diseases develop in a lab dish.

AP: Trash soils Bush pledge to protect islands
Two years ago with fanfare, President Bush declared a remote chain of Hawaiian islands the biggest, most environmentally protected area of ocean in the world. It hasn't worked out that way.Cleanup efforts have slowed, garbage is still piling up and Bush has cut his budget request by 80 percent.

CNN: Bush speaks of free expression at U.S. Embassy dedication
U.S. President George W. Bush cut the ribbon Friday on the massive new U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, and said societies that allow free expression tend to be more prosperous.

CNNMoney.com: Retailers struggle as stimulus money dries up
Weaker-than-expected retail July sales indicate that the government's $92 billion worth of economy-boosting stimulus checks may have run their course.