• Authorities allege that Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) formed a “corporate labyrinth” to “secretly receive illegal payments.” [WP]
• The Bush administration appears reluctant to enforce medical privacy laws; no civil fines have been issued despite 19,420 reported grievances. [WP]
• Lawsuits target electronic voting in at least six states. [USAT]
• South Dakota ruling has made abortion a top campaign topic in local races cross the country. [NYT]
• ‘08 campaign calendars and speculation align as Mark Warner (D) and Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) share a ballroom in Richmond. [WP]
• Rep. Katherine Harris’s (R-Fla.) Senate campaign is “inspiring dread among many in her party.” [USAT]

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• Senate vote on immigration legislation is set for today; Karl Rove “got a cold reception” from Republican lawmakers. [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Legal analysts say FBI raid on Rep. William Jefferson’s congressional office was probably legal; Reps. Hastert and Pelosi demand seized documents be returned. [WP, WP, NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Cheney wanted to “get all the facts out,” according to Lewis Libby’s testimony; new filing indicates the vice president may be called to testify. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Speaker Hastert is “in the mix” of the FBI’s investigation of congressional corruption, ABC News maintains despite denials from the Hill and the Justice Department. [ABC News]
• Database of immigrants will need more than $1B in upgrades; labor, big business, and civil-liberties advocates oppose the plan. [WP]
• Prosecutor says David Safavian, former procurement official, repeatedly “lied, concealed and misled” investigators about his dealings with Jack Abramoff. [WP, NYT]
• Loss of unity among Republicans is fueled by worries about the election. [W$J]
• Fiscal conservatives take on Republican leadership in attempt to reduce earmarks and pet projects. [NYT]

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• FBI receives complaints from both sides of the aisle for raid on Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) office. [WP]
• Democrats, after pointing fingers at Republicans, face a corruption scandal in their own ranks with Rep. Jefferson. [NYT, LAT]
• AT&T allowed the NSA to view “every individual message” on its internet, lawsuit claims. [WSJ]
• Immigration overhaul is expected to be approved by the Senate this week; Speaker Hastert may override. [WP, WSJ]
• Many Republican candidates are keeping their distance from Bush. [WSJ]
• Bush describes Iraq at a “turning point”: “The terrorists are now fighting a free and constitutional government. They’re at war with the people of Iraq.” [WP]
• Democrats are concerned that voters would be “concerned or distracted” by Bill Clinton if Hillary runs for president; “he has told friends that his No. 1 priority is not to cause her any trouble” and “they appear in the public spotlight methodically and carefully.” [NYT]

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• White House strategists believe the midterm elections offer Bush an opportunity to “rewrite” and “recover” his presidency. Republicans plan to focus on immigration, tax cuts, and homeland security and will “frame the election as a contest with Democrats, confident that voters unhappy with the president will find the opposition even more distasteful.” [WP]
• The GOP is seeing losses “in morale, in fundraising and in early election contests.” [LAT]
• Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) was caught on tape accepting $100,000 from an investor-turned-informant. [WP, NYT]
• Alberto Gonzales says the government can legally prosecute journalists for publishing classified information. [NYT, WP]
• Patrick Fitzgerald is trying to prove that Scooter Libby lied based on his knowledge of Valerie Plame’s classified status. [WP]
• Laura Bush is “leveraging her popularity” to boost Republican candidates where her husband can’t. [USAT]
• Senators expect immigration compromise this year. [LAT]

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• At his confirmation hearing, Gen. Michael Hayden deflects specifics, defends NSA wiretapping, distances himself from Pentagon brass, and urges a focus on the future of the CIA: “It’s time to move past what seems to me to be an endless picking apart of the archaeology of every past intelligence success or failure.” [WP, NYT, NYT, WSJ]
• Senate votes 63 to 34 to make English the “national language”; vote continues “the conservative turn that a major overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws has taken since the Senate began debate this week.” [WP, NYT]
• Judiciary Committee approves constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage; Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) says “good riddance” to Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), who replies, “See ya.” [WP]
• Bush in Arizona: “It makes sense to use fencing along the border in key locations in order to do our job. We’re in the process of making our border the most technologically advanced border in the world.” [NYT, WSJ]
• BellSouth seeks a retraction from USA Today for “the false and unsubstantiated statements” about NSA phone logs. [WSJ]

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• Senate approves fences and barriers for the southern border as well as restrictions for the guest-worker program. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.): “Good fences make good neighbors. Fences don’t make bad neighbors.” [WP, NYT, WSJ]
• New details about Gen. Michael Hayden’s “highly classified world” are “forcing lawmakers to reexamine a man many of them have known for years”; last-minute briefings to lawmakers on the Intelligence Committees “have smoothed what might have been a contentious path toward confirmation” and a declassified list shows select members were briefed 30 times on surveillance programs since 9/11. [WP, NYT, NYT, USAT, USAT, WSJ]
• Tuesday’s election results may preview a “brewing unrest that could threaten incumbents of both parties in the November elections”; a “broader disaffection” is noted. [WP, NYT]
• Bush echoes past campaign themes in speech at RNC fundraiser: “We are the party of the future, and our candidates will be running against the party of the past — a party that offers no new ideas like the Republican Party, a party that can only offer opposition.” [NYT]
• Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) says Bush is not appropriately funding the National Guard order: “A lot are going to be sitting in cars that don’t run and planes that don’t take off.” [USAT]
• House ethics committee opens investigations of Reps. Robert Ney (R-Ohio), William Jefferson (D-La.), and Randy Cunningham (R-Calif.). [WP, NYT]
• Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman are bidding for a multibillion-dollar contract to provide border security. [NYT]

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• Democrats are now more trusted than Republicans to handle every key issue, according to new WP-ABC News poll; 69% believe the nation is “off track” and 56% want Democrats to win control of Congress yet 52% say Democrats “have not offered a sharp contrast to Bush and the Republicans.” [WP]
• House Republicans hold back the Senate’s advancement of immigration proposals. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio): “I understand what the president’s position is. I have made it pretty clear that I have supported the House position.” Cheney, meanwhile, reassures Rush Limbaugh: “[W]here appropriate, fences or security barriers make good sense.” [WP, NYT, USAT]
• White House pledges to brief more lawmakers about anti-terrorism efforts. [WP]
• Verizon denies that it provided phone logs to the NSA. [NYT, USAT]

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• In speech tonight, Bush will call for thousands of National Guard troops to be deployed along the southern border as a temporary solution; “a number of Democrats and even a few key Republicans” have already “voiced skepticism or outright opposition.” Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.): “That’s a short-term fix, and I’m not sure that’s a very wise fix.” [WP, NYT, USAT]
• GOP reaches out to activist base as Christian conservatives seek action on controversial issues such as gay marriage and abortion. [NYT, WSJ]
• Fearing their own political futures, House and Senate Republicans are increasingly divided and disloyal. [WP]
• Reports of domestic call logging “seemed to fly in the face of months of public statements and assurances from President Bush and his aides,” who have been “punctilious in discussing” NSA programs. [WP]
• Views of call logging split along party lines but strong majorities are concerned it’s just the tip of the iceberg and support congressional hearings. [USAT]

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• Rep. Rahm Emanuel, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, hurls expletives at Dean over election strategy; Emanuel fears Dean is spending too much money too soon: “This is a historic opportunity, and we can’t squander it.” [WP, NYT]
• The NSA is “amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren’t suspected of any crime”; calls made by tens of millions of Americans are logged. [USAT]
• Bush is losing support among his base at a “rapid” clip; Gallup registers “a 13-percentage-point drop in Republican support for Bush in the past couple of weeks.” [WP]
• Republicans seek to gain upper-hand on energy issues with a “whole series” of measures. [WSJ]
• National issues are shaping local races this year; “Republicans are swimming against a national tide of voter unrest.” [WSJ]
• House passes $70B tax package mostly along party lines, 244 to 185. [WP, NYT, USAT]
• National Archives violated rules when White House lawyers looked at John Roberts‘ files; papers on affirmative action are missing. [WP]

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• Congressional Republicans propose five-year, $70B tax bill; the main component is the extension of tax rates on capital gains and dividends. [WP, WSJ, NYT]
• Bush’s “political strength continues to dissipate,” according to fresh CBS/NYT poll; his “overall job approval rating hit another new low, 31 percent, tying the low point of his father in July 1992, four months before the elder Mr. Bush lost his bid for a second term.” [NYT]
• Centrist Democrats say the party “should concentrate on charting alternative policies for fighting terrorism and succeeding in Iraq” instead of launching investigations of Bush’s mistakes. [WP]
• Rumsfeld, backing selection of Hayden to head the CIA, denies a power play is underway; nomination seen as setting “the stage for new wrangling with the Pentagon.” [WP, NYT]
• Bush stands by Monday deadline for Medicare program; plan is “emerging as a surprise plus for Republicans in a rocky election season.” [WP, NYT, USAT]
• GOP’s ‘06 roster features three African-American candidates running for statewide offices. Ken Mehlman: “We’ve gone from a model of outreach to a model of inclusion. Outreach is a top-down approach. Inclusion says, ‘Let’s find some really good people and encourage them to run for office.’” [WP]
• Ethics issue is “two-edged sword” for Democrats. [USAT]
• House Republicans are still struggling to agree on ‘07 budget. [WSJ]
• Pro-immigration groups aim to register 1M new voters by November. [WP]

• Reliable Source: Attorney for Robert Steinbuch threatens to add Ana Marie Cox as a co-defendant in his suit against Jessica Cutler. . . Murdoch will host a summer fundraiser for Hillary. . . Mort Kondracke marries Marguerite Sallee, the CEO of America’s Promise. . . Bush twins are spotted buying vintage clothes. [WP]
• Heard on the Hill: Michael Scanlon will be awarded his diploma from John Hopkins. . . Josh Bolten went to a Nationals game with Bo Derek. . . Woman spotted with Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) is confirmed to be his girlfriend. . . [Roll Call]
• Under the Dome: Fundraiser for Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) hosted by Mort Zuckerman features Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and former Sen. Al D’Amato (R-N.Y.). . . Wolf Blitzer, Chris Matthews, Petra Nemcova, and Rep. Tom McMillen (D-Md.) showed up for the opening of The Collection at Chevy Chase. . . “Campaign chair” for Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) caught using a government-issued American Express card at a strip club. [The Hill]