Politico - POLITICO's guide to some of the must-read passages from 'The Battle for America 2008'.

CQPolitics.com - After a couple of largely fruitless months talking up how retooling health care will squeeze hundreds of billions of dollars of savings from a broken system, the White House is recalibrating its message and emphasizing consumer-friendly aspects.

Reuters - The World Trade Center's public projects, such as the mass transit hub, should not be delayed by a financing battle with Developer Larry Silverstein over his office towers, Governor David Paterson said on Monday.

Politico - Van Jones says the environmental movement can be harnessed to boost economic prosperity.

Politico - Dems's ability to make their case on health care at public events is in the hands of those who turn out.

AP - The Federal Emergency Management Agency is going to plan more broadly for children and their needs as the government prepares for disasters.

AP - British police have been criticized for an exercise in which two female officers spent the day in full-body veils to learn about Islam.

AP - A European Union naval spokesman says Somali pirates have received a ransom to release a German vessel they have been holding for more than three months.

Time.com - Republican politicians and human-rights activists rarely agree on how to treat terrorist suspects, but they are unwitting allies in opposition to the Obama Administration's latest proposal

Bloomberg - Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Democrats may decide to pass a U.S. health-care overhaul without Republican support if some opposition lawmakers don’t agree to a plan by mid-September, Senator Charles Schumer said.

AP - The White House took a tight-lipped stance Tuesday on former President Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea to press for the release of two jailed Americans arrested in March.

AP - Sen. Lindsay Graham says he hopes former President Clinton's visit to North Korea can yield some progress on nuclear issues as well as winning the release of two jailed American journalists.

Politico - Clip punches back at an old clip of Barack Obama that was featured on the Drudge Report.

AP - Rep. Joe Sestak is formally announcing his candidacy Tuesday against Republican-turned-Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter, setting the stage in Pennsylvania for a race likely to center on Specter's Democratic credentials.

Reuters - The European Union urged Georgia and South Ossetia Monday not to raise tensions around the rebel territory, calling for 'unrestricted access' for EU monitors to both sides of its administrative boundary.

AFP - The United States and the European Union hit out Monday at Israel for evicting Palestinian families from east Jerusalem, warning that such moves endangered the Middle East peace process.

BusinessWeek - 'Change' is not only the mantra being espoused during these tumultuous times, but it also defines this brief period in history and my personal life. Before the presidential campaigns were in full swing and Senator Barack Obama was calling for change, the class of 2009 was already taking a big step toward altering their lives and careers, hopefully for the better.

Bloomberg - Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama stands by his campaign vow not to raise taxes on middle-income Americans to deal with rising budget deficits or pay for an overhaul of the U.S. health-care system, his spokesman said.

AP - Rep. Joe Sestak on Tuesday announced he would challenge Republican-turned-Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter, setting the stage for a Pennsylvania primary race likely to center on Specter's Democratic credentials.

AFP - A swift conclusion to a new world trade pact could serve as a powerful stimulus for recovery from the global financial crisis, WTO chief Pascal Lamy said in an interview published Tuesday.

AP - The British government has refused to answer questions about whether its spies were complicit in the torture of terrorist suspects, and only an independent inquiry can clear the air and restore public confidence, a committee of lawmakers said Tuesday.

Reuters - Top U.S. bank regulators spoke out on Tuesday against key elements of the Obama administration's plan to reshape financial regulation, calling some parts unneeded or disruptive.

AP - Vice President Joe Biden says the Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus program is meeting its goals in revving up the ailing economy.

AP - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has arrived in Kenya on the first leg of a seven-nation tour of Africa.

AP - Former President Bill Clinton is following in familiar footsteps in his solo diplomatic mission to North Korea to try to secure the release of two journalists detained last March along the border with China.

Reuters - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday put a bill to extend the popular 'cash for clunkers' program on the chamber's legislative calendar for consideration, hopefully within the next few days.

AFP - The US Senate began debate Tuesday on Judge Sonia Sotomayor's near-certain confirmation as the first Hispanic justice on the US Supreme Court.

AFP - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili called on the United States and the EU Tuesday to send a 'clear message' to Russia to help prevent a repeat of last year's war between Moscow and Tbilisi.

AP - Britain's chief prosecutor says the same legal rules must apply to assisted suicide whether it takes place in Britain or in countries where the practice is allowed.

Reuters - Disagreement within the Obama administration over reshaping U.S. financial regulation flared on Tuesday, with top bank regulators defending their turf against key parts of a broad bank supervision overhaul plan.

CQPolitics.com - Rep. Joe Sestak is challenging Sen. Arlen Specter -- and this time it's official.

Bloomberg - Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama stands by his campaign vow not to raise taxes on middle-income Americans to deal with rising budget deficits or pay for an overhaul of the U.S. health-care system, his spokesman said.

AP - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is predicting swift approval for an extension of the popular 'cash-for-clunkers' program, which is rapidly running out of money after surging demand from consumers eager to purchase new cars with federal help.

Politico - In a letter to Pelosi, leaders of the 82-member Congressional Progressive Caucus reaffirm their stand.

AP - The Obama administration is refusing to quickly release government records on its 'cash-for-clunkers' rebate program that would substantiate — or undercut — White House claims of the program's success, even as the president presses the Senate for a quick vote for $2 billion to boost car sales.

AP - President Barack Obama is celebrating his own birthday by leading the White House press corps in singing Happy Birthday to veteran reporter Helen Thomas.

AP - The Senate's top Republican said Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor fails the test of impartiality despite her impressive background, while the leading Democrat defended her as a mainstream moderate, as the Senate prepared to debate the judge expected to be confirmed as the first Hispanic and third female justice.

AP - Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian premier engulfed in a sex scandal over alleged encounters with young women, has been taken to task by his daughter, who is quoted as saying in an interview that public officials should enhance moral values.

AP - A traumatized gorilla who carried around her dead baby's body for several days in a German zoo last year has given birth again — and this time her offspring is healthy.

AFP - A majority of Americans are in favor of having a public, or government-run, option in the US health care system as proposed by President Barack Obama, a poll showed Tuesday.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Tuesday offered the first of what will become monthly reports on mortgage modifications, including a name-and-shame approach that'll allow the public to see which banks are and aren't working to help keep struggling Americans in their homes.

CQPolitics.com - The Senate will add another $2 billion to the popular 'cash for clunkers' program before starting its August recess, Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday.

Politico - Reid says he has enough votes to extend 'Cash for Clunkers,' and McConnell agrees.

AP - A court in Iceland lifted a gag order Tuesday that allowed Kaupthing Bank to prevent media coverage of a leaked file that discloses details of the bank's weak position shortly before it collapsed in October.

AP - NATO's governing body approved a plan on Tuesday to reorganize the alliance's command structure in Afghanistan by setting up a new headquarters to handle the day-to-day running of the war.

The Yahoo! Newsroom - Some people love birthdays, some people don't. President Barack Obama clearly isn't shy about celebrating his 48th — he marched right into Press Secretary Robert Gibb's briefing, carrying cupcakes and leading the White House press corps in singing 'Happy Birthday' ... to veteran reporter Helen Thomas. She's also celebrating a birthday today: her 89th.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — The Senate will approve another $2 billion for the popular 'cash for clunkers' program, probably by the end of the week, confident Democrats predicted Tuesday as Republican efforts to block the funding faded.

CQPolitics.com - President Obama gave Senate Democrats a pep talk Tuesday on their health care overhaul efforts as the lawmakers prepare to counter blistering attacks from Republicans over the August recess.

AP - Bill Clinton's North Korean negotiations cast fresh light on a Byzantine, mysterious power that Americans may never fully understand.

Politico - POLITICO scoured the streets for best (and worst) VIP birthday singers.

AP - The Senate on Tuesday passed a $124.3 billion agriculture spending bill that pays to add millions of people to the food stamp rolls as rising numbers of the jobless are forced into the program.

AP - Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline says that nine additional countries have ordered 96 million doses of swine flu vaccine since last month.

Reuters - South Africa's biggest union on Tuesday threatened strikes at state power utility Eskom from next week and said it would shut down electricity across the country to press wage demands.

Reuters - President Barack Obama is still searching for the right person to lead the fight against an epidemic of cybercrime, the White House said on Tuesday as it came under fire following the resignation of a top cybersecurity adviser.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats tried hard to defuse mounting opposition to their health care overhaul effort Tuesday as they huddled at the White House and vowed unity and bipartisan cooperation.

Bloomberg - Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama and top U.S. military commanders are under pressure from senators and civilian advisers to double the size of Afghan security forces, a commitment that would cost billions of dollars.

Politico - The advertisements could certainly get the attention of the White House, but they risk a father’s anger.

AP - The Senate on Tuesday passed a $124.3 billion agriculture spending bill that pays to add millions of people to the food stamp rolls as rising numbers of the jobless are forced into the program.

AP - An American who says he was tortured into confessing to terrorism charges in the United Arab Emirates lost his effort on Tuesday to get a U.S. judge involved in his trial.

AFP - A deeply divided US Senate began a contentious debate Tuesday on Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination as the first Hispanic justice and third woman in history to serve on the US Supreme Court.

AP - She was big. She was beautiful. And boy was she popular with the fishermen.

AP - Greece's new Acropolis Museum said Tuesday it would restore references to early Christians vandalizing the ancient Parthenon temple, which were deleted from a film shown to visitors for fear of angering the country's powerful Orthodox Church.

AFP - US President Barack Obama will chair a high-level meeting of the UN Security Council on nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament next month, the US ambassador to the UN said Tuesday.

CQPolitics.com - President Obama gave Senate Democrats a pep talk Tuesday on their health care overhaul efforts as the lawmakers prepare to counter blistering attacks from Republicans over the August recess.

AP - The Obama administration let North Korean leader Kim Jong Il save face by releasing two jailed Americans to former President Bill Clinton. The payoff — maybe not right away — is likely to be renewed dialogue with Pyongyang about its nuclear weapons program.

Politico - The administration launches a coordinated effort to combat against health care rumors.

AP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday spoke with President Barack Obama about Georgia, just days before the anniversary of last year's Russia-Georgia war, a Kremlin statement said.

AFP - A deeply divided US Senate began a contentious debate on Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination as the first Hispanic justice and third woman to serve on the US Supreme Court.

AP - The White House is standing by its decision to award a Presidential Medal of Freedom to former Irish President Mary Robinson.

Bloomberg - Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama and top U.S. military commanders are being pressed by senators and civilian advisers to more than double the size of Afghan security forces, a move that would cost billions of dollars.