2. In case you missed this on the Secret Decoder Ring Page: About a month ago I entered into a brief discussion with the folks at the Washington Post dot com about writing a column for the web site. It was a fairly standard meeting which did not lead to anything. I only tell you about it to fully disclose a discussion about a potential business relationship.

Rich

Saudis Facing Return of Radicals
Young Iraq Veterans Join Underground
By Craig Whitlock, Page A01
    RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- An increasing number of Saudis who crossed the border into Iraq to fight the U.S.-led military occupation are returning home to plot attacks against the Saudi government and Western targets in the desert kingdom, according to Western counterterrorism officials and Saudis with ties to militant groups.

Weapons Ban Set to Fade Into Sunset
By Charles Babington, Page A04
    With time expiring on the decade-old assault weapons ban, gun control advocates are angry at President Bush for apparently doing nothing to extend it. In fact, the president never asked the House to continue the ban, which will expire in September, because he knew it was pointless, says Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.).

Political Face of Florida Latinos Changing
Puerto Rican Influx Gives Democrats Hope of Ending Cuban-GOP Dominance
By Darryl Fears, Page A05
    ORLANDO -- On the morning that two hijacked airliners slammed into the World Trade Center towers, Antonio Adger decided to leave New York City for good. The next day, Sept. 12, 2001, he packed his belongings, rented a U-Haul and started driving from Brooklyn to a place just short of where land meets sea in sunny Central Florida.

Excerpts From Interview With Democratic Candidates
Page A07
    Here are excerpts of an interview with Sens. John F. Kerry and John Edwards aboard the Democrats' campaign plane Friday. It opened with a question about the fundraising concert Thursday night in New York, where several entertainers sharply attacked President Bush, calling him "a thug" and suggesting he was a murderer. Kerry was asked about Republican criticism of the event and his statement that the performers reflected "the heart and soul" of the country.

Kerry, Edwards Revel in Brotherhood of Campaign
Energy, Enthusiasm Infectious as Democrats Take Message to Battleground States
By Dan Balz and Jim VandeHei, Page A08
    RALEIGH, N.C., July 10 -- Once thought to have a frosty relationship, John F. Kerry and John Edwards cannot seem to get enough of each other.

NATION IN BRIEF
Page A09
    Florida Will Not Use Disputed List of Felons in Election MIAMI -- Florida elections officials said Saturday they will not use a disputed list that was designed to keep felons from voting, acknowledging a flaw that could have allowed convicted Hispanic felons to cast ballots in November.

Bush Pushes for Ban on Gay Marriage
Vote on Constitutional Amendment Could Come This Week
Page A10
    President Bush said yesterday that legalizing gay marriage would redefine the most fundamental institution of civilization and that a constitutional amendment is needed to protect it.

In Iraq, Showdown Looms Over Self-Rule for Kurds
Regional Leaders Say They Will Not Give up Quasi-Independence
By Edward Cody, Page A18
    IRBIL, Iraq -- Karzan Kanabi, whose clothing shop attracts young men with its cheap bell-bottom pants, never went to Baghdad, never learned Arabic and never felt the desire to go anywhere he would have to mix with Iraq's Arab population.

CIA Skewed Iraq Reporting, Senate Says
By Dafna Linzer and Barton Gellman, Page A19
    Last August, a small team of Senate investigators trying to determine how U.S. intelligence assessments of Iraq had failed went looking for answers in a place where the Bush administration believed there were not any: the offices of U.N. nuclear inspectors in Vienna. The inspectors had determined, before the war, that Iraq did not have a nuclear weapons program.