Politico - Grassley defends drafting the health care bill, but also seemed to distance himself from the legislation.

AP - Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the nation's top car salesman in recent weeks, has cited the Obama administration's best-seller list of mostly smaller, fuel-saving cars like the Ford Focus to describe the success of the Cash for Clunkers rebate program.

AP - On President Barack Obama's promise to pay attention to the problems of rural America, four of his Cabinet secretaries have traveled to parts of Alaska that couldn't get much more rural.

AFP - US President Barack Obama takes to the road on Friday in a bid to quell the torrent of 'misinformation' threatening to swamp his healthcare reform drive and damage his political credibility.

Bloomberg - Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama is weighing a trip to the International Olympic Committee’s Oct. 2 meeting in Copenhagen to make a closing argument that his hometown of Chicago should host the 2016 Summer Games.

Politico - A POLITICO analysis of nearly every word in this public record shows that domestic topics dominate.

Politico - The former Alaska governor defends her claim about the Democratic health-care proposal.

Politico - A new coalition launches $12M in TV ads to support Obama’s health-reform plan.

AP - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has arrived in the conflict-shattered country of Liberia to show the Obama administration's support for Africa's first democratically elected female leader, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

AP - The White House says President Barack Obama will address the nation's largest organization of combat veterans next week.

AP - In a not-so-subtle dig at the Bush administration, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said Wednesday the United States has paid the price for 'stiff-arming the U.N.' and spurning international partners and is now embarked on a new era of global engagement.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc energy trader Andrew Hall is proposing to modify his contract in an effort to avoid a confrontation with the Obama administration's pay czar, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the situation.

AP - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday offered high-profile support for Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first democratically elected female leader.

Bloomberg - Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- China may appeal a World Trade Organization ruling that its limits on the sale of books, films and music from the U.S. are unfair.

Politico - Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin defended her claim that the Democratic health care proposal would create “death panels” in a statement Wednesday night slamming President Barack Obama.

AP - Exxon Mobil Corp. will pay about $7,000 each for dozens of birds killed at various company properties.

AP - Years after President George W. Bush fired nine U.S. attorneys, lawmakers are still searching for answers. But they seem to be asking the wrong questions.

AP - A 16-year-old Corsican boy has confessed to shooting and killing his sleeping parents and 10-year-old twin brothers with a hunting rifle, officials said Thursday.

AP - A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that people can be prosecuted for displaying Nazi slogans in Germany only if they are in the German language.

CQPolitics.com - Democratic lawmakers and their aides are frustrated with the Democratic National Committee and its Organizing for America arm because a campaign to deluge state and district offices with health care overhaul supporters has left many constituents mistakenly thinking they had appointments with their representatives.

AP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that an Afghan assessment due soon from commanding Gen. Stanley McChrystal won't contain any specific recommendations for increases in troops.

AP - There's a certain irony here.

AP - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin refused to retreat Thursday from her argument that a proposed health care overhaul would create 'death panels,' even though a provision of the bill she cites merely authorizes government reimbursements to doctors for voluntary end-of-life consultations.

AP - The Pentagon is upsetting the nation's governors by pushing for authority to call up military reservists for natural disasters — and to control how the troops would be used in any state.

AP - People are flooding members of Congress with so many e-mails that they are overloading the House's primary Web site, http://www.house.gov.

AP - Statements from the White House on the 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which President Barack Obama awarded on Wednesday:

AP - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Thursday rejected sharp criticism from his Russian counterpart, saying the Kremlin is to blame for a downturn in bilateral ties.

AP - A U.N. anti-torture investigator said Thursday he has received credible claims that Iranian protesters detained after the June 12 presidential elections were abused in prison.

AFP - President Barack Obama will attend his first summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore and visit other countries in the region in November, the White House said Thursday.

Politico - Joe Wurzelbacher: plumber, political activist, musician, commentator, author and, now, comedian.

AP - Car shoppers are getting more flexibility in buying vehicles through the Cash for Clunkers program.

AP - A Bozeman, Mont., restaurant is saluting the president's fondness for cheeseburgers by offering a 'Barack Obama Burger' Friday to honor his visit to the area.

McClatchy Newspapers - ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan — The Canadian soldiers in southern Afghanistan wonder whether the Americans who're coming later this month will be able to do any better than they have.

AP - Boeing Co. agreed Thursday to pay the U.S. government $25 million to settle claims the company did defective work on critical military refueling planes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Politico - Grassley's Iowa road show shows just why Democrats feared this August recess.

AP - The Obama administration says it will defend a 2001 rule imposed by President Bill Clinton that blocked road construction and other development on tens of millions of acres of remote national forests.

AP - The U.N. Security Council agreed after two days of talks to issue a statement Thursday calling on Myanmar's military government to immediately release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners.

AP - Britain's military says three of its soldiers have been killed by an explosion in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.

AP - U.S. officials are holding for undisclosed reasons a Pakistani journalist who works for an American media outlet.

Politico - Giuliani says Obama faces the first big loss of his presidency on health care for lacking leadership.

AP - Damon Weaver has a new homeboy — President Barack Obama.