Wonkette

In a hilarious mix-up, a Captiol File party photog was at this very moment leading a subcommittee meeting on corporate pensions. (AP) MORE »

• The Senate renewed key provisions of the Voting Rights Act 98 to 0, yesterday. President Bush is expected to sign it. [WP]

• President Bush spoke before the NAACP, receiving applause for his commitment to the VRA, and boos and heckling over the Iraq war. [WP]
• The FEC announced that former political powerhouse Americans for a Republican Majority, Tom DeLay’s PAC, will “pay $115,000 in fines for violations of federal campaign rules” and shut down permanently. [NYT]
• “While making it plain it wants civilian casualties limited, the administration is also content to see the Israelis inflict the maximum damage possible on Hezbollah.” [WP]
• Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt “claimed millions of dollars in tax deductions through a type of charitable foundation they created that until recently paid out very little in actual charity,” kept or invested the money themselves. [WP]

• Violence in Lebanon and Gaza shows no signs of letting up, with Israel stepping up its bombing of Lebanon and Hezbollah continuing its rocket attacks. President Bush gave his “qualified” support to the Israeli campaign. [WP, NYT, NYT]

• The Voting Rights Act was passed by the House, despite the almost-rebellion of southern Republicans who wished to change portions of the civil rights legislation. [WP]
• The price of crude oil hit a record high yesterday, at $76/barrel. [WP]
• Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife Valerie Plame Wilson are suing Vice President Dick Cheney, his former chief of staff Scooter Libby, and Karl Rove for violating their constitutional rights. “Plame and Wilson might be entitled to demand documents from Cheney and others, as well as to require them to sit for sworn depositions….” [WP, NYT]
• President Bush, in Russia, is urging G8 leaders to speak with a “unified voice” in combating violence in the middle east. Bush is expected to gently encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to be a little more democratic. [NYT, AP]