"WE DO NOT YET HAVE FULL CONTROL OF THE BORDER": President Bush said last night that he will dispatch 6,000 National Guard troops starting next month to help secure the porous U.S.-Mexican border, calling on a divided Congress and country to find "a rational middle ground" on immigration that includes providing millions of illegal workers a new route to citizenship. In a rare prime-time speech from the Oval Office, Bush said the nation must move immediately to stanch the flow of illegal immigrants from its southern border by sending in the National Guard to free up U.S. Border Patrol agents in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. The Guard troops will provide intelligence, surveillance and logistical assistance over the next two years -- not armed law enforcement. "We do not yet have full control of the border, and I am determined to change that," Bush said. Washington Post: On Immigration, Bush Seeks 'Middle Ground'

193 MILLION NEW IMMIGRANTS BY 2026? The Senate immigration reform bill would allow for up to 193 million new legal immigrants -- a number greater than 60 percent of the current U.S. population -- in the next 20 years, according to a study released yesterday. "The magnitude of changes that are entailed in this bill -- and are largely unknown -- rival the impact of the creation of Social Security or the creation of the Medicare program," said Robert Rector, senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation who conducted the study. Although the legislation would permit 193 million new immigrants in the next two decades, Mr. Rector estimated that it is more likely that about 103 million new immigrants actually would arrive in the next 20 years. Washington Times: Bill permits 193 million more aliens by 2026

BELLSOUTH DENIES ROLL IN NSA PROGRAM: BellSouth said yesterday that it had not shared customer calling records with the National Security Agency, denying a report last week that it was among three major telephone companies to have done so. BellSouth, the country's third-largest local phone company, said that after an internal review it had found no evidence that it had even been contacted by the agency. "From the review we conducted, we cannot establish any link between BellSouth and the N.S.A.," Jeff Battcher, the company's spokesman, said in an interview. "We wouldn't have made this bold statement if we weren't confident about this." New York Times: BellSouth Denies It Handed Over Telephone Records to the N.S.A.

MARKEY WANTS FCC PROBE: U.S. Rep. Edward Markey yesterday demanded the Federal Communications Commission either launch an investigation into telecommunications companies that provided millions of customers' phone records to the National Security Agency or explain how the program is lawful. In a letter sent to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, Markey (D-Malden) said major telecommunication companies - including AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth - might have broken customer privacy laws by supplying phone records to the NSA's massive spy program. "I would like to know what the Commission intends to do with respect to probing these apparent breaches" of customer privacy laws, Markey said in the letter. Markey also asked for the "legal reasoning" should the FCC decide not to investigate the telecommunications companies. Markey requested a response from the FCC by the close of business yesterday. "We are reviewing it carefully and will respond accordingly," said FCC spokesman David Fiske. Boston Herald: Mass. rep demands FCC action in NSA phone-spy case

"PEOPLE LIKE THIS PRESIDENT... THEY'RE JUST SOUR RIGHT NOW ON THE WAR": Presidential adviser Karl Rove blamed the war in Iraq on Monday for dragging down President Bush's job approval ratings in public opinion polls. "People like this president," Rove said. "They're just sour right now on the war." Rove said that Bush's likeability ratings are far higher than his approval ratings. "There is a disconnect" because of the Iraq conflict, Rove told the American Enterprise Institute. "I think the war looms over everything. There's no doubt about it," Rove said during a question-and-answer session after a speech on the economy at the conservative think tank. Rove, who is deputy White House chief of staff and Bush's top political adviser, brushed aside a question on his own role in the federal CIA-leak investigation, saying he would not go beyond statements by his attorney. "Nice try," Rove told the questioner. AP via Yahoo! News: Rove Blames Iraq War for Low Bush Numbers

JEFFERSON BLAMES CHARGES ON "OVERZEALOUS PROSECUTORS": In a defiant speech that may presage his legal strategy in a federal bribery investigation, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, proclaimed his innocence Monday and vowed to fight any charges that might be brought against him. In a news conference on the steps of the Hale Boggs Federal Building, Jefferson suggested the case has more to do with overzealous prosecutors than the weight of the evidence. "No one wants to be indicted," Jefferson said, reading a statement. "I certainly do not and I certainly do not want anyone -- a family member or a close associate -- to be indicted. But I am prepared to answer these charges formally when and if the time comes... I would take full responsibility for any crime that I committed, if that were the case. But I will not plead guilty to something I did not do, no matter how things are made to look and no matter the risk." New Orleans Times-Picayune: Jefferson declares he'll fight any charges

CELL PHONE-ONLY CROWD WORRIES POLLSTERS: Justin Globus is part of a fast-growing group -- approaching one in 10 Americans -- who have given up traditional telephones and depend only on their cell phones. That trend is making pollsters uneasy. For Globus, a 25-year-old salesman from New York, "It was a fiscal decision -- a matter of chopping down to one bill." But the rapid growth of the cell-only crowd isn't so simple for pollsters. Their survey research depends on contacting random samples of households with landline phones. They worry that if the trend continues they could miss a significant number of people and that could undermine their ability to accurately measure public opinion. There could be implications for politics, government policy, academia, business and journalism. AP via Yahoo! News: Cell-Phone-Only Crowd May Alter Polling

BUSH WORTH UP TO $21 MILLION; CHENEY NEARLY $95 MILLION: President Bush and his wife, Laura, had assets valued between $7.2 million and $20.9 million last year, up from as much as $18.1 million a year earlier, annual disclosure forms released last night showed. Bush, who says his economic policies have helped Americans increase their wealth, is still making up ground from the start of his first term in 2001, when he and his wife reported assets of as much as $24 million. Vice President Cheney disclosed a portfolio worth as much as $94.6 million in 2005. New York Times: Bushes' Assets May Top $20 Million; Cheneys', $94 Million

'08ERS "DIP TOES" IN TAR HEEL STATE: North Carolina, a state rarely mentioned as a national battleground, got its fair share of White House hopefuls Monday. Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner delivered a brief, policy-free commencement address at Wake Forest University. In Raleigh, about 100 miles to the east, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani raised money for the state Republican party, while former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, lobbied at the state legislature for a minimum wage increase. A Democrat hasn't won North Carolina since Jimmy Carter's presidential bid in 1976. AP via Yahoo! News: Warner, Edwards, Giuliani Dip Toes in N.C.

WARNER PUTS A STAFFER IN NH: Mark Warner's Forward Together political action committee is funding a staff position for the New Hampshire Senate Democratic caucus, the latest sign that the former Virginia governor is laying the groundwork for a 2008 presidential bid. Forward Together made a contribution to the Senate caucus, which provided the group sufficient resources to hire a staffer charged with research and communications. Warner's PAC recommended Audra Tafoya to fill the slot; Tafoya has been on the job for two weeks, according to Warner aides. WashingtonPost.com: Warner Is Latest Democrat to Place Staffer in N.H.