• WELL, WELL: Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize! For nuclear things! Anyway this is better than at least 3/5 of the summer Olympic events. [New York Times]
• The moon, well, most of it, managed to prolong its existence overnight despite NASA’s best efforts. [New York Times]
• 160-ish people were killed in mudslides in the Philippines. The last time things were this flood-y there was 40 years ago. [AP]
• A car bomb in Pakistan killed 42 people and injured 60 more. No one officially took credit but people are generally thinking “Taliban.” [Times Online]
• Olympia Snowe arguably still matters. This seems tenuous! Anyway, the LA Times has interviewed every known resident of Maine to prove it. [LA Times]
• Gen. McChrystal and the military people would like 40,000 troops sent to Afghanistan. [WSJ]

• The US and Friends disagree over how many nuclear warheads, rounded to the nearest jillion, Iran is building right now. Israel’s estimate is quite a bit higher than that of the US, which doesn’t think Iran could make a single warhead even if it wanted to, which it does. [New York Times]
• Plus, unless Iran says it’s cool with letting weapons inspectors come check out just how many weapons it’s incapable of making, the US will FORBID everyone on Earth—LOOKING AT YOU Hong Kong and Dubai—from donating to Iran’s nuclear wish-list. [Washington Post]
• Barack and Michelle Obama are very committed to playing with awesome lightsabers for as long as it takes until Chicago wins the 2016 Olympics. [CNN]
• Najibullah Zazi, America’s famous captured near-terrorist, will be arraigned this morning in New York, where he will be charged with trying to blow it up. [WSJ]
• Almost 300 people have died or gone missing during the Philippines’ terrible flooding. Ugh, and there are literally two more storms on the horizon. [AP]
• Guinea soldiers engaged in horrible violence, rape, murder, etc. towards Guinea protesters, killing 87 people. Oh yes and also all this happened in a major sports stadium. [LA Times]

C’mon now. [PhilStar.com, h/t Shorts' Pants]

President George W. Bush today played White House host to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the most powerful woman in American history. He used the occasion to congratulate Filipinos everywhere for their remarkable contributions to the world. He did this, of course, by singling out his Filipino cook. ‘Cause that dame churns out one helluva steak ‘n’ baked. MORE »

Ever had one of those days when everything sucks, your boss is stupid and you hate your job? A group of dudes in the Philippines did, too, so they staged a little coup, which we’re dubbing the lamest coup ever.

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Beloved “Christian Clown” and minister arrested in Illinois “for allegedly taking naked photographs of young boys at a Philippines orphanage.” But don’t worry, the clown was only there on a “clowning trip.” (PS: There are at least two Klutzo the Clowns in Illinois, and this one isn’t the Accused Molester.) [Agitprop]

• Conservatives express disappointment with Miers during “tense” meetings with administration officials; “rarely have [conservatives] been so openly distrustful of the president himself.” Lott: “Is she the most qualified person? Clearly, the answer to that is ‘no’. . . you have to also look at what has been her level of decisiveness and competence, and I don’t have enough information on that yet.” [WP, WP, NYT, LAT, WT, USAT]
• Senate votes 90-9 to limit interrogation of detainees in the Middle East and at Guantanamo Bay; represents a “new boldness among Republicans to challenge the White House on war policy.” [WP, WSJ, NYT]
• Former White House security official may have passed classified documents to the Philippines. [WP, NYT, USAT]
• Republicans are divided over extent of budget cuts. [WP]
• CIA will not hold current or former officials accountable for failure to prevent 9/11. Kristin Breitweiser: “[Porter Goss] is either avoiding embarrassment or trying to hide something.” [WP]

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