AP - Born in the political rubble of the Watergate scandal, the nation's 34-year experiment with limiting the influence of big money in federal elections is being tested as never before.

AP - A helicopter hit by a small plane over the Hudson River wasn't initially visible to an air traffic controller handling the plane, federal safety officials say in a revised account of the deadly collision.

Reuters - Human rights groupings around the world are calling for an end to the bloc system in the United Nations main rights forum which they say enables countries guilty of gross abuses to sit on the body.

AFP - US President Barack Obama was bidding Tuesday to breathe new life into his Middle East peace push, looking to Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak help break a deadlock between Israel and Arab states.

Bloomberg - Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Armed protesters asserting their right to bear arms, including a man with a rifle slung over his shoulder, gathered yesterday near a Phoenix convention hall where President Barack Obama spoke, a police spokesman said.

Politico - Inside the Beltway, many are bemused at the prospect of Tom DeLay doing a paso doble on primetime TV.

Politico - Left-leaning House Dems tell POLITICO a bill without a public option won’t win enough caucus votes.

AP - Former House Republican Whip Tom DeLay, called the 'Hammer' for his arm-twisting talents, wants to show the world some fancy footwork.

AP - A member of the House Republican leadership says he doesn't think the $787 billion economic stimulus program the Obama administration pushed through Congress earlier this year has worked as advertised.

Politico - Simon says: Will the president fight for real health care reform, or will he give in?

AP - British authorities say they will evacuate two small villages in northern England after a World War II-era bomb was found buried in a nearby field.

AP - Millions of Italians and foreigners failed once again to guess the winning numbers in Italy's state lottery, and the record jackpot climbed to euro139.9 million ($197 million) after Monday's draw.

AP - White House spokesman Robert Gibbs insists the Obama administration has not shifted its goals on health care reform or distanced itself from a government-run public insurance option.

AP - President Barack Obama plans to spend an hour with former President Bill Clinton in a debriefing session about Clinton's mission to North Korea that won the freedom of two imprisoned American journalists.

AP - President Barack Obama has indicated a willingness to drop a government-run health care plan from any overhaul. The White House says that's not a shift. Actually, it is.

Politico - In an Ideas piece, Ellis says DeLay will lead his dance partner with a winning strategy and plan.

AP - The Obama administration is hopeful that groundwork can be laid soon to allow the resumption of stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the State Department said Monday.

Time.com - In between town hall meetings, the President takes his family on a tour of one of America's fabled national parks

AP - The government is taking steps to counter a new delay in the arrival of swine flu vaccine, hunting factories that can get more of the precious liquid into syringes, faster.

AP - Rose and Zine Hosein have stand-up jobs — and get paid $15 an hour for it. They've also learned that being a line-stander is tougher than being a bystander.

Politico - Winfrey's first-ever list highlights 20 'remarkable visionaries,' including several D.C. insiders.

Politico - When you’re Barack Obama and you’ve lost Jon Stewart, you’ve got a problem.

AP - President Barack Obama is extending condolences to the Korean people and the family of former President Kim Dai-jung.

AP - Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev hosted Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres for talks Tuesday that were expected to focus on the Middle East and the Iranian nuclear standoff.

CQPolitics.com - U.S. consumers' confidence in access to health care and their future well-being declined last month, as debate over President Obama's proposed overhaul of the health system intensified, a new telephone survey found.

Bloomberg - Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Armed protesters asserting their right to bear arms, including a man with a rifle slung over his shoulder, gathered yesterday near a Phoenix convention hall where President Barack Obama spoke, a police spokesman said.

Politico - Legendary Washington columnist who valued reporting over punditry died at his Washington home Tuesday.

AP - Chances are there's cocaine in your wallet.

AP - Wise Latina. The catch phrase of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearings has since taken on a life of its own, generating sales of T-shirts, note cards, dog jerseys and even thongs.

Bloomberg -

CQPolitics.com - The list of potential candidates to succeed resigning Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida appears to be thinning. Yet sources close to Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, tasked with appointing an interim successor, insisted Tuesday that more names are bound to surface before a decision is made.

AP - Faced with an unexpected delay, health officials are trying to counter new problems with swine flu vaccine production including a logjam at factories that put the precious liquid into syringes.

Politico - President Obama to hold “a live strategy meeting” — online and via conference call on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.

Politico - Former Labor secretary Robert Reich says action needs to be taken to ensure there is a public option.

AP - It's tough to find much compromise in this summer's health care free-for-all. But at least someone is saying thanks for trying.

AP - The Obama administration has sent to Congress a favorable report on Mexico's human rights record that could allow the release of $100 million in U.S. aid to help the country fight drug traffickers.

AP - French tourists heading to risky foreign destinations could be asked to foot the bill if the French government comes to their rescue.

AP - An open secret among U.S. officials in Kabul is that Afghanistan was the Bush administration's second-string war. After years of neglect, Taliban violence skyrocketed, prompting President Barack Obama to boost the American commitment — in guns and gold.

McClatchy Newspapers - BAGHDAD — Staff Sgt. Darrell 'Skip' Griffin Jr. wanted to give Americans a close-up view of his two tours of duty in Iraq, so they could see the blood and grit in the aftermath of an attack on a convoy, and feel his anxiety in watching the lives of ordinary Iraqis fall part in the crossfire between sectarian killers and the soldiers who hunted them.

AP - President Barack Obama won lavish praise from his Egyptian counterpart on Tuesday and spoke of an 'extraordinary opportunity' for making peace in the Middle East, saying he was encouraged by U.S. efforts to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

AP - The top federal prosecutor in New Jersey is facing an internal ethics investigation over public comments that may have helped his ex-boss' campaign for governor, officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

AP - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought Tuesday to reassure Latin America that a pending agreement to give U.S. forces greater access to Colombian military facilities will not create permanent U.S. bases. The planned expanded U.S. military presence in Colombia has worried some nations, even friendly nations, in the region.

AP - Insurgents struck the Afghan capital two days before national elections, firing rockets or mortars at the presidential palace and unleashing a suicide car bomber on a NATO convoy. Alarmed, the government asked news media not to report violent acts during the day of the vote.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak used a newfound welcome mat Tuesday at the White House to urge the United States to accelerate Mideast peace talks, skipping past temporary steps that he said have led nowhere and moving instead to a final negotiation about the status of Jerusalem, the status of refugees and borders.

CQPolitics.com - Foreign interests spent $87 million lobbying Congress and executive branch officials last year, according to a new analysis compiled by the Sunlight Foundation and ProPublica.

Politico - Congress and the media could be distracted from health care by a series of thorny national security problems.

AP - Rose and Zine Hosein have stand-up jobs — and get paid $15 an hour for it. The 60-something couple have the ultimate niche occupation in Washington's influence economy, holding places in line for lobbyists outside crowded congressional hearing rooms.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — U.S. immigration officials questioned a Voice of America journalist Tuesday to determine whether he could apply for asylum based on a 'credible fear' of being tortured or persecuted in his native Pakistan.

AP - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has expanded his search to replace GOP Sen. Mel Martinez, who announced earlier this month that he'll leave office before his term ends.

AP - Democrats on a House committee are seeking detailed financial records from dozens of large insurance companies, officials disclosed Tuesday, part of an investigation into 'executive compensation and other business practices' in an industry opposed to President Barack Obama's plan to overhaul health care.

Politico - Barney Frank fights back at a town hall.

AFP - A delegation of senior US Roman Catholic clergy called for closer ties between Washington and Havana following moves by President Barack Obama to improve ties with the communist island.