As if the CIA’s secret assassination program couldn’t get creepier: The New York Times reports that the intelligence agency’s program to seek and kill jihadists employed none other than infamous military contractor Blackwater. The CIA did not have a formal contract with Blackwater but used “individual agreements” with company heavyweights, including Blackwater founder Erik Prince. It is unclear whether the agency intended to pay Blackwater for assassinations and captures, or for help with training and surveillance. Senior CIA officials, apparently realizing that “assassin for hire” has a certain unsavory ring to it, ended Blackwater’s partnership in the assassination program years before Leon Panetta took over the agency. However, the Times reports that Blackwater’s involvement may have played a role in Panetta’s decision to come clean on the death squad. Last week, Joseph Finder suggested in The Daily Beast that Panetta had jumped the gun in disclosing the secret program to Congress.

Has Karl Rove finally reached his breaking point? In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, the former George W. Bush adviser vents that The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) all owe him an apology. The newspapers have published a combined 18 editorials pointing a finger at him for the prosecution of Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman in 2004, and the firing of eight U.S. attorneys in 2006, Rove writes. And Conyers once told two members of the House Judiciary Committee: "We're closing in on Rove. Someone's got to kick his ass." The problem, according to Rove? They're all wrong, as new material released by the House Judiciary Committee last week allegedly reveals: "Judging from the evidence released, it uncovered facts that show that my role in the U.S. attorneys issue was minimal and entirely proper," Rove writes. "I did not conceive of the idea of removing certain U.S. attorneys, did not select those to be removed, and did not see the lists of U.S. attorneys Justice was considering to replace... No fair-minded person can review the thousands of pages of documents and testimony and conclude that I drove the process."

Lest anyone call him a hypocrite for demanding Bill Clinton's resignation over Monica Lewinsky—then having an affair of his own—Nevada Senator John Ensign offered his defense today: His relationship with a friend's wife was a mistake, but not as bad as Clinton's affair, because he didn't lie about it under oath. "I haven't done anything legally wrong," Ensign said. "President Clinton stood right before the American people and he lied to the American people." Ensign was speaking at a Nevada Chamber of Commerce luncheon, in his first public appearance in his home state since admitting to his relationship with former campaign aide Cynthia Hampton.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett gave his first press conference since fighting off a violent attack on Saturday night, when he defended an older woman who was holding a one-year-old child and fighting with a young man. Standing with his wife, sister, and niece, a visibly injured Barrett told reporters, "I think anybody would have done the same thing. I hope anybody would have done the same thing." Barrett sustained injuries to his mouth, face, and hand, which he wore in a cast. WISN-TV reports that Anthony Peters, 20, was arguing with the grandmother of his daughter. Peters attacked Barrett with a metal baton and, according to Barrett, "Things got very, very ugly very, very quickly." Barrett's security personnel were not with him that night because he was on "a spur of the moment decision by myself to have a little family reunion with my siblings." He says he is "on the mend" and "just wanted you to know I'm still standing." Peters is expected to be charged Thursday for the assault.

Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea may have been a "private mission," but North Korean officials feel America owes them a favor for the release of journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling—and they'd like their payment in bilateral talks, a request that the Obama administration rejected. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson met with a pair of North Korean diplomats in Santa Fe on Wednesday and explained: "They feel, the North Koreans, that by giving us the two American journalists, that they've made an important gesture.” He continued, "They do feel they are owed a gesture on the U.S. part.” Richardson added, "I don't believe that should be the case because this was a humanitarian gesture that needed to happen." The governor, who has worked with North Korea and was Bill Clinton’s ambassador to the United Nations, said the officials approached him for the meeting and that he "detected for the first time... a lessening of tension, some positive vibrations." The group will reconvene Thursday to discuss renewable energy.

Maid service and a private beach might be expected for a Clinton getaway—but a clothing-optional sky deck? The Bermuda Sun reports that Bill and Hillary flew via private jet to a Bermuda resort on Wednesday for a short vacation, returning to the island where daughter Chelsea, 29, was apparently conceived three decades ago. (In his biography, Bill confessed that he learned Hillary was pregnant via the Arkansas Gazette.) The Sun reports that, though the former first couple had hoped to stay at Horizons, the cottage colony where they stayed back in 1979, the resort could no longer accommodate them, forcing the couple’s staff to book at Cambridge Beaches, a "plush, adult-only resort" that boasts the aforementioned deck and sometimes hosts sex seminars to improve couples' relationships. CNN reports that the State Department declined to comment on the trip.

David Copperfield is no doubt wishing he could disappear right now: A 22-year-old fashion model has just filed a federal lawsuit against the magician and entertainer, alleging he sexually assaulted and threatened her while she was visiting his private island in the Bahamas, back in 2007. The woman, a Seattle native, says she met the magician during one of his shows earlier that year, and was invited to his island that summer. After watching a movie, he attacked and threatened to kill her if she didn't comply, the suit claims. Copperfield's lawyers deny the accusations and have issued a forceful response: "This lawsuit is extortion for money, plain and simple," read a statement. "Unfortunately, false claims like this only hurt the women who really have been abused, women who really need our help."

Exactly six years after the bombing of the U.N. complex in Iraq that killed Sergio de Mello, coordinated truck blasts struck across Baghdad Wednesday morning, killing at least 95 and wounding over 500. The blasts occurred mainly at government buildings—one near the finance ministry in the northern part of the city, another at the foreign ministry next to the Green Zone. Many of the explosions—which appear to have been linked—came from truck bombs, one of which damaged a nearby main highway. The bombings are the latest in a bloody month in Iraq—but the worst since the U.S. handover in June—and raise concerns about the ability of Iraqi forces to secure the country as American troops withdraw. Indeed, American forces were not authorized by Iraqi officials to help with rescue efforts. Iraq's prime minister has blamed Sunni insurgents for the attacks.

The authorities are preparing to conclude their investigation into Michael Jackson's untimely death and charge his personal doctor, Conrad Murray, with manslaughter, Fox News reports. Investigators are preparing their case against Murray and are expected to carry out one more raid on a Los Angeles pharmacy before arresting him within the next two weeks. Dr. Arnold Klein, Jacko's dermatologist, is expected to face charges related to medical malpractice as well. The Los Angeles Times has reported that Murray administered a powerful anesthetic, propofol, to Jackson and then left him unattended while making phone calls. When Murray returned to Jacko's bedside, he had stopped breathing. On Tuesday, Murray released a video in which he said that "the truth will prevail." A former prosecutor blew off the video as nothing more than a "total PR stunt."

Don Hewitt, the newsman who started 60 Minutes and produced it for 36 years died on Wednesday at 86, according to CBS News. Hewitt stepped down as the executive producer of the show in 2004. He spent most of his 60-year career at CBS, working with men like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite before inventing the idea of the television newsmagazine with 60 Minutes. The program was revolutionary for breaking the traditional hour-long documentary into three segments. He wanted to “package an hour of reality as compellingly as Hollywood packages an hour of make-believe,” Hewitt said.

Caster Semenya, an 18-year-old woman from South Africa, is considered the favorite in the upcoming 800m World Athletics Championships race. But might Semenya have an unfair competitive advantage because she is actually a he? On Wednesday race officials revealed that they had ordered Semenya to take a gender test, though the results have not yet been confirmed. Semenya's unusually muscular physique, along with her stunning performance in a previous 800m race in which she smashed a world record by more than one second, raised skepticism. According to the Daily Mail, some experts were "concerned with the way she runs," (though it is unclear exactly what about her running style arouses suspicion). Pending results of the test, Semenya will be participating in the race on Wednesday. If she does turn out to be a man, she would be following in a long line of athletes who tried to dupe their way into the record books by posing as women.

Could President Obama be angling for a little help from above on health care? On a conference call of religious leaders Wednesday, the president said that overhauling the current system a "moral obligation," and that his plan is part of a wider effort to create a more just society. "There are some folks out there who are, frankly, bearing false witness," Obama said, addressing the misinformation that's been circulating. He also said that the notion that the plan contains anything close to a "death panel" is "ludicrous" and an "extraordinary lie," and he denied accusations that the plan would grant health benefits to illegal aliens or fund abortions. "It is absolutely critical that we make sure we're on the side of promoting the well-being of all Americans," he told listeners. "I hope that you will all help us move this process forward in the months to come."

L’affaire Edwards continues: The National Enquirer is reporting that Rielle Hunter is moving to John Edwards’ neighborhood in North Carolina, so that he can help her raise the child that is rumored to be his (but which he has denied fathering). It follows an Enquirer report last week—so far uncorroborated in other publications—that Edwards had taken a secret paternity test that proved he was the father of 18-month-old Frances. “A source close to the couple” tells the Enquirer that Elizabeth Edwards exploded into a rage when he told her that Hunter would be moving close to their $2.6 million mansion in Wilmington.

The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, which killed all 270 people on a PanAm flight from London to New York in 1988, is expected to be given "compassionate release" so that he can spend his final days with his family. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had lobbied for Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi to remain behind bars for the rest of his life in spite of his fatal case of prostate cancer. In 2003, a Scottish court declared that al Megrahi should spend at least 27 years in prison before being considered for parole, though it seems they have had a change of heart.

At a White House event honoring NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson, President Barack Obama responded to a reporter's question about health care by saying he's "absolutely confident that we are going to get a bill, and I hope it's bipartisan." But are Democrats really committed to crossing the aisle anymore? A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he's not above doing an end-run around a stubborn GOP: "Patience is not unlimited and we are determined to get something done this year by any legislative means necessary." That includes the possibility of reconciliation, a controversial legislative procedure that allows a bill to bypass the threat of filibuster with only 50 votes, instead of the usual 60. But do the Dems even have 50 votes? Jake Tapper notes that the Democrats' 60-vote majority includes two senators too ill to vote (Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts) and five who have vocally questioned or opposed the public option—that leaves 53 Democratic votes for a bill that includes the public option, which isn't a lot of breathing room for a bill attracting heavy interest from outside groups and the insurance industry.

Is this the end of secret Swiss banking? UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, will release information on 4,450 accounts in order to settle a U.S. lawsuit that seeks the names of suspected tax evaders. The accounts in question had, at their peak, about $18 billion in assets. UBS, which Bloomberg calls “the world’s second-biggest manager of money for the rich,” admitted in February to participating “in a scheme to defraud the U.S.” Since February, UBS has paid $780 million to the U.S. and four of its clients have plead guilty to failing to report their offshore bank accounts.

Another tragic day for U.S. troops in Afghanistan: Six American soldiers were killed Wednesday in three separate attacks, bringing the total number of deaths in August up to 32. Meanwhile, six election workers were killed in attacks in the countryside on the day before Afghanistan votes on whether or not to give President Hamid Karzai a second term. Last month, 44 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan, the deadliest month so far in the eight-year war.

He may no longer be chairman of the Democratic National Committee, but Howard Dean has found ways to stay relevant in the midst of heated debate over one of his favorite issues: health care. Dean is traveling the nation, rallying disappointed Democrats. "The worst thing that could happen is to pass a bill without a public option," he recently told a group of supporters. Still, some of Dean's fellow Democrats inside the beltway say that his taking a stand may do more harm than good. "What Howard is doing is principled but destructive," one strategist told the Washington Post.

President Obama may not be kicking Chuck Grassley and other Republicans off the health-care wagon just yet: White House press secretary Robert Gibbs denied reports that the Obama administration and congressional Democrats are giving up on a bipartisan health-care reform bill. “Absolutely not,” Gibbs said. “We continue to be hopeful that we can get bipartisan support and will continue to work with those that are interested in doing that… Our goal is to get this done in a bipartisan way. There are several more weeks to go in potential negotiations between Republicans and Democrats. I don’t know why we would short-circuit any of that now.”

Back in the day—and we're not just talking about the pre-television days—the sports columnists ruled the roost at your metro daily. Writers like Mike Lupica, Mitch Albom, Red Smith were must-reads. Now, even The New York Times is abandoning its columnists in favor of beat reporters who offer up-to-the-minute analysis, according to The New York Observer's John Koblin. And the Paper of Record is not alone in this trend. "That thoughtful, reflective, reported opinion that we used to see has basically vanished," Selena Roberts, a writer with Sports Illustrated and a Times columnist from 2002 to 2007, told the Observer. "This leaves the reader, especially since the reader is going to the Web for the analysts' point of view, with a shallower perspective of what's going on." The Times once had five columnists. Now, it has two, and George Vecsey, who is 70, is talking retirement.

Richard Hatch will have to survive behind bars for at least a bit longer, as he was reportedly hauled off to prison after giving an interview that was not approved by the authorities. Hatch, who won the first season of Survivor, was serving the remainder of his sentence for tax evasion and lying on the stand in his home in Rhode Island, when he apparently became outraged at comments by the U.S. attorney who spearheaded his prosecution. The attorney described Hatch as "delusional," the Associated Press reports. Hatch appears to have initiated the interview, which he gave on a local radio station after a pre-approved interview with Today's Matt Lauer. The radio host said Hatch called up the station twice and was furious. Hatch said the prosecutors unfairly targeted him because he is gay. Sheriffs showed up at his door shortly thereafter.

Conspiracy theorists rejoice: Oliver Stone will direct a 10-part series for Showtime entitled the Secret History of America. It's an ambitious and far-reaching project, spanning "under-reported" events, according to Showtime. Stone will explore the origins of the Cold War and the series will include "newly discovered facts and accounts" on the Kennedy administration. Stone is narrating the program, which will premiere in 2010. Said Stone: "Through this epic 10-hour series, which I feel is the deepest contribution I could ever make in film to my children and the next generation, I can only hope a change in our thinking will result."

The latest wrinkle in the health-care debacle: David Axelrod, Obama's senior adviser, has former partners in Chicago who are the beneficiaries of $24 million in ad buys from White House allies. AKPD Message and Media, a firm founded by Axelrod (and which currently employs his son) bought two $12 million ad campaigns that support Obama's push for health-care reform. The Healthy Economy Now ads, which have been paid for by the groups, will air in a dozen states and are targeted at Blue Dog Dems and their constituents. The House Republican Conference released a one-page memo Tuesday that questioned whether Axelrod "recused himself" from the deal.

The U.S. economy is breathing again, but the dollar isn't out of the woods yet, Warren Buffett writes in Wednesday's New York Times. Praising much of the government's rescue, the Berkshire Hathaway chief cautions that these efforts have also left us in "fiscally uncharted territory" with the deficit set to reach $1.8 trillion. The next step: controlling "greenback emissions," he writes. Once we are in recovery mode, "Congress must end the rise in the debt-to-G.D.P. ratio and keep our growth in obligations in line with our growth in resources."

Do the Feds have secret agents policing the blogosphere? Hal Turner, a New Jersey blogger who is on trial for making threats to politicians and judges in both Connecticut and Illinois, has claimed that he was trained by the FBI to incite others without breaking the law. Turner's lawyer said that for five years he worked as an "agent provacateur" for the feds, and that "His job was basically to publish information which would cause other parties to act in a manner which would lead to their arrest." Prosecutors have confirmed that Turner was used as a spy on radical right-wing organizations. However, the charges Turner is facing in court appear unrelated to his old job. He stands accused of encouraging readers of his blog to take up arms against legislators and judges, even going so far as to say that some "deserve to be killed" and others should "obey the Constitution or die."

Democrats are set to move ahead on health care, with or without Republican cooperation, according to The New York Times. “Top Democrats said Tuesday that their go-it-alone view was being shaped by what they saw as Republicans’ purposely strident tone against health-care legislation during this month’s Congressional recess, as well as remarks by leading Republicans that current proposals were flawed beyond repair.” Out in front is Rahm Emanuel, who said that “the Republican leadership has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama’s health-care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day.” The Wall Street Journal reports, meanwhile, that President Obama “will likely shift his pitch in September.” The new strategy will focus on lofty themes and emotional appeals, rather than wonky details, and it will feature speeches instead of town halls.

The economy may be on the road to recovery, but are consumers holding it back? Shoppers stuck to buying basics over the last quarter, The Wall Street Journal reports, with Target posting a drop of 6.2 percent in stores open at least a year, and Saks a drop of 15.5 percent. Though the reliable back-to-school shopping approaches, retail experts say the conditions probably won’t improve until next spring. 60 percent of the economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal said that a substantial growth in consumer spending was necessary for sustained economic growth. But it looks like that will be hard to change overnight. Said one 22-year-old shopper, who has switched from luxury retailers to shopping with coupons: “When I spend, it takes away from the family. I don’t splurge anymore.”

Hurricane season is picking up: Hurricane Bill became a Category 4 storm off the coast of the Leeward Islands in the Atlantic on Wednesday. It’s moving with maximum winds of 135 mph, and, according to experts, Bermuda lies in its path. The storm could continue between the island and the east coast of the U.S., and—bad news for surfers—rip currents are expected along the coastline.

Conservative lawyer Theodore Olson argued Bush v. Gore before the Supreme Court in 2000 and defended Bush’s counterterrorism policies after 9/11. Only now, however, does Olson say he is preparing for the most important case of his career: same-sex marriage. Olson filed a lawsuit challenging California’s decision to ban same-sex marriage, but insists that his desire to take on the case stems from “personal and legal conviction.” Rumors abounded, at first, that Olson had taken the case only to sabotage it. But he tells The New York Times: “For conservatives who don’t like what I’m doing, it’s, ‘If he just had someone in his family we’d forgive him.''' He continued, “For liberals it’s such a freakish thing that it’s, ‘He must have someone in his family, otherwise a conservative couldn’t possibly have these views.’ It’s frustrating that people won’t take it on face value.” But as Olson prepares to argue the case, the bottom line is clear: “This case,” he said, “could involve the rights and happiness and equal treatment of millions of people.”

Michael Jackson will finally rest in eternal peace, in a crypt in the wall at the Holly Terrace section of the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. The mausoleum—which is decorated with replicas of Michelangelo’s greatest works—is also resting place for stars like Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, W.C. Fields, and Seabiscuit jockey George Woolf. The Jackson family has scheduled a private ceremony at the mausoleum for August 29, which would have been Michael’s 51st birthday.

Has Whole Foods done irreparable damage to its organic and overpriced image? Since the CEO, John Mackey, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal presenting alternatives to President Obama's health-care plan, numerous liberal customers have felt betrayed, and some are even calling for a boycott. One member of a Boycott Whole Foods Facebook group wrote, "The 30 risotto cakes that I purchased ... were scrumptious. But today they are giving me indigestion of the soul as I realize that my money may have funded the demise of the public option." Many once-dedicated Whole Foods customers are appalled at the perceived disconnect between being an organic, health-conscious, ethical grocery store while also being opposed to health-care reform. "A lot of people are sad to look at this corporation and see that it is just like any other, if not worse," one angry customer told the Washington Post.

It was, depending on who you ask, the best “Top 10” list on David Letterman has ever seen. A newly slim Britney Spears stripped down to a bikini to deliver the funny rankings on Tuesday night. In a black string bikini and with a flower behind her ear, Britney Spears read a list of “Top 10 Ways the Country Would be Different if Britney Spears Were President.” But it seemed like everyone—including the writers—spent more time focusing on Britney’s appearance than what was coming out of her mouth. Some of the jokes on her list: “Three words: Vice President Diddy.” Another: “Costume changes between press conferences,” and her final jab was, um, a real side-splitter: she wished that “the media would pay attention to me and care about what I’m doing.”

Mickey Mouse has a problem on his hands: “The accidental death of a performer at Walt Disney Co.'s Walt Disney World in Florida—the third employee fatality at the park since early July—has prompted separate local and federal investigations,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Anislav Varbanov, 30, died on Monday after he was injured while performing a tumbling roll for a rehearsal for a show based on Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Last week, Mark Prince, 47, died from a head injury he suffered during a performance of a pirate show. And in July, Austin Wuennenberg, 21, died when another monorail backed into the one he was operating. The U.S. Labor Department has now sent an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigator to Orlando. “OSHA has launched five inspections of parts of Disney World in 2009, three because of the fatalities and two in response to complaints,” The Journal said.

Violence and heated propaganda wars rocked Afghanistan on Tuesday, two days before the nation's presidential election. The New York Times reports that the Taliban unleashed a series of suicide bombings and a rocket attack at the presidential palace, while the government prohibited both foreign and domestic journalists from reporting on the violence. Over the last week, the Taliban has repeatedly warned that they will attack polling stations and those who vote in the election in an effort to undermine the election's credibility. The Times explains: "Low turnout, especially in the war-torn south, could affect Mr. Karzai's results in the election, since the ethnic Pashtuns who populate the south form his base of support." Karzai was in the palace at the time of the palace attack, but was not wounded.