• China wooing Canadian politicians with gifts and women, Tory MP alleges
• Chinese-Canadian leader laments spy agency allegations

• Kara DioGuardi -- Out at 'American Idol'
  Sources connected with the "American Idol" negotiations tell TMZ Kara DioGuardi has judged her last contestant on "American Idol" -- because she's been fired.

• J.Lo close to deal to become a judge on 'American Idol': source
  Ellen DeGeneres is dancing off “American Idol” after one season and Jennifer Lopez is poised to step in. Lopez is close to signing a deal to join Fox TV’s hit singing contest as a judge

• Laurence Fishburne's Daughter -- Porn Star
• Pamela Anderson slams 'greedy' Janet Jackson for hawking fur
• Should Sharon Osbourne ditch plastic surgery after latest shock picture
• Imprisoned Phil Spector returns to music
• Lindsay Lohan turns artist in jail
• Michael Jackson doctors cleared

Yaffe: From the G20 to the census to high-level internal strife at the RCMP, controversies are hurting the Conservatives and a silent Harper. The dead of summer is a relatively undemanding, but still mighty dangerous time for a Canadian political leader. MORE...

Den Tandt: The Liberals say they want Stephen Harperto rescind his plan to scrap the mandatory long-form census. Not true. A reversal is the last thing the Grits would like. That’s because this move, and the government’s obduracy in the face.. MORE...

Harris: The flap over the census has turned into a handbook on the care and feeding of sacred cows. You know what a sacred cow is: It never yields a steak or even a fatty burger, but is permitted to leave chocolate pies on the lawn. MORE...

Lethbridge:  Ah summer. Weather’s warm, beer’s cold, you’re on vacation. Why would anyone give two hoots about something as mundane as — cough! — a census form? I mean, life’s good. Barbecue’s on. You’re cracking another cold one. MORE...

Robson: Ottawa is still buzzing over the government's decision to make the long-form census voluntary. At least some of Ottawa's more, uh, introverted insiders are. I just can't convince myself it's an important issue, compared to billions of.. MORE...

Stackhouse: The Harper government is accident-prone. Even when it does good things, it can’t stay out of trouble. In June, the Prime Minister not only played host to the G8 and G20 summits but also helped to shape them. Despite Canadians.. MORE...

Riley: Is it too late for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to make an emergency booking at that Arizona company that provided troubled RCMP commissioner William Elliott with leadership coaching a couple of years ago? Canadian.. MORE...

Gardner: The situation Captain Robert Semrau encountered was a philosopher's dream and a soldier's nightmare. In hostile territory, what was left of an enemy combatant lay on the ground. His body had been dismembered, mangled, and.. MORE...

• Summer vacation: PM off the clock, Ignatieff on the bus
  While Harper has some downtime in seclusion, Liberal rival is up and running for the next election. By his own admission, Stephen Harper is not a man given to having fun.

• Jack Layton on why Canadians want a fall election
  The Canadian political arena is locked in a state of stasis -- wherein no party is close to having majority support from Canadians -- and yet election murmurs have been heating up across the country.

• Pundits' Guide: ‘Canadians Ready for an Election’ says Layton; But Are the Parties?

• Tories convert Russian-bomber incident into pitch for expensive new fighter jets
  The Conservative publicity machine scrambled into action as a common confrontation between Canadian and Russian military planes turned into a campaign for $16-billion in new fighter jets.

• Hot'n'fresh Tory talking points: Russian bomber flights show need for new jets
• Canadian jets repel Russian bombers

• Jay Hill leaves Parliament on his own terms
  Taber: Jay Hill left Ottawa this week for Calgary, driving his Jeep Cherokee with a little U-Haul trailer attached full of the prized possessions he didn’t want to put on the moving van.

• Violence against women: an international epidemic
  Caplan: Twelve girls and women have been murdered by family members in Canada since 2002; these grisly deaths, perversely known as honour killings, have all taken place in certain minority communities.

• Bishops castigate Clement on census change
  The country's Roman Catholic bishops have joined the chorus asking the federal government to reverse a decision to scrap the mandatory long census form.

• Akin: MPs get letters: Conservative supporter ready to quit over census decision
• Economists weigh in on census debate

• Ex-CSIS chief to probe Mountie mutiny
  The Harper government is calling on a former top spy to probe the workplace atmosphere at the RCMP.

• Ignatieff Says It's Too Soon to `Shut the Door' on More Canada Stimulus
  Canadian opposition leader Michael Ignatieff said it’s too early to “shut the door” on additional economic stimulus as new spending measures may be needed to fuel the recovery.

• Canada's economy grows in May after a flat April
  The economy grew by just one-tenth of one per cent in May, according to the latest report from Statistics Canada.

• NDP accuses Harper government of information control in Wikipedia incident
  The NDP says the use of Defence Department computers to remove criticism about the Harper government’s plan to purchase a new stealth fighter raises questions about oversight at the department and misuse of public equipment.

• Quebec seeking offshore deal
  Talks underway with Ottawa on drilling in area contested by N.L. Negotiations have been launched between the federal government and Quebec in an attempt to strike an offshore drilling deal similar to those that have enriched Atlantic provinces.

• Poll says Black where he belongs
  An overwhelming number of Canadians — 71 per cent of those polled — say the federal government should not give Conrad Black special dispensation to return to Canada.

• Tory considering joining race for mayor, e-mail with candidate reveals
  In public, John Tory still insists he has “no plans to have plans” to run for mayor of Toronto. But in private, he’s considering it so seriously that he refused – politely, of course – to back down ..

• Lack of RCMP reforms at issue, observers say
  Frustration over a lack of promised reforms three years after a civilian was appointed to revive the troubled RCMP is at the heart of complaints about Comissioner William Elliott, say those familiar with the conflict.

• Ignatieff's proposed asbestos ban may have killed deal
  A mining company says Michael Ignatieff might be responsible for stalling the reopening of one of Canada's last asbestos mines.

• Iggy gets jiggy on Queen St.
  Federal Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff staged a conga line with several local MPs and a Caribana calypso queen and danced several feet onto his tour bus Thursday afternoon in front of the landmark CTV building at Queen and John Sts.

• Feds will examine added cost of refit: PM
  Prime Minister Stephen Harper says federal officials will examine the extra costs New Brunswick faces due to refurbishment delays at the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station, but cautions that the province was "fully aware that there were uncertainties involved" when it launched the project.

• Clarke eager to represent federal Tories in C.B. riding
  Cecil Clarke, MLA for Cape Breton North, hopes to run in the next federal election, challenging Liberal Mark Eyking for the Sydney-Victoria seat he has held for nearly 10 years.

• Boutilier uses loophole to keep political funding
  Fort McMurray MLA Guy Boutilier announced his plans to join the Wildrose Alliance last month, but on paper the former Tory cabinet minister is still an Independent and receiving thousands of dollars for research and office funding he won't receive as part of the Alliance's caucus.

• Canadian tourists warned about driving while abroad
  Canadian tourists should think twice before getting behind the wheel during trips in Mexico, China, Guatemala and Cuba, the Foreign Affairs Department warns.

• Army looks for company to train bomb specialists
  Call them super-CSI, but in a flak vest and helmet. The Canadian army is dramatically upping the ante in training expert soldiers to fight networks that plant roadside bombs and booby traps in Afghanistan.

• Former Canada Post auditor vows to put stamp on UN
  Canadian Carman Lapointe is walking into the world’s toughest auditing job: cleaning up the sprawling United Nations after massive fraud scandals and allegations that her new boss, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, obstructed her predecessor’s watchdog efforts.

• Camera footage shows well-preserved glimpses of sunken Arctic ship
  A roving camera, Little Bruce, drifted drunkenly over the bow of HMS Investigator on Thursday, recording high-definition video just centimetres from the wreck's anchor chains and upper-deck planking, scratched into rubble by 155 years of passing ice.

• Tax collector may have used confidential files for business leads
  A tax collector in B.C. used the Canada Revenue Agency's computers to look up the private tax files of hundreds of high-income individuals, apparently in the hopes of hitting them up for a business she ran on the side, according to internal government documents.

• Key player in Tehran rescue needs rescuing this time
  John Sheardown won’t be with his former colleagues this weekend to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Canadian rescue of six American escapees from the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

• Transport Canada fails to see humour in line of baggage stickers
  The furor over the cheeky design of some new luggage stickers has led the two Vancouver entrepreneurs behind them to halt sales in Canada.

• Police deny muzzling protesters
  Two G20 protesters out on bail were warned by police this week they face re-arrest because they were close to violating the conditions of their release. Their friends claim the tactic is an attempt by police to muzzle freedom of speech.

• Canadians split on spending vacation at home or away: Poll
  For his vacation this year, Mark Sears-Gamache is leaving Canada — just like the majority of Canadians aged 18-34, according to the results of a poll released Friday.

• WestJet told to pay more for lost luggage
  WestJet Canada’s lost luggage policy is “unreasonable” and must quickly be increased beyond its current $250 limit per passenger, the Canadian Transport Agency has ruled.