Top Items:
Anne E. Kornblut / New York Times:
G.O.P. Lobbyist to Plead Guilty in Deal With Prosecutors — WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 - Jack Abramoff will plead guilty to three felony counts in Washington on Wednesday as part of a settlement with federal prosecutors, ending an intense, months-long negotiation over whether the Republican lobbyist …
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ReddHedd / firedoglake:
Abramoff Plea Deal Reached — The NYTimes is reporting on the details of the Abramoff plea deal. According to Anne Kornblut, Abramoff will plead guilty to three counts in the DC phase of the investigation — public corruption, fraud, and tax evasion — resulting in a maximum exposure of about 10 years in federal prison.
MSNBC:
Top lobbyist to plead guilty in corruption case — Abramoff cuts deal in congressional, gambling boat investigations … MSNBC TV — WASHINGTON - Lobbyist Jack Abramoff will plead guilty to federal charges in Washington and Miami, clearing the way for him to cooperate …
Washington Post:
Abramoff Expected to Plead Guilty to 3 Felony Charges — Former high-powered lobbyist Jack Abramoff is expected to plead guilty today to three felony charges in a Washington courtroom, a Justice Department spokesman said. — The plea deal opens the prospect that Abramoff could provide testimony …
Discussion:
ScrappleFace
Bloomberg:
Abramoff May Plead Guilty This Week, Snaring Lawmakers in Probe — Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) — Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is under criminal investigation, may agree this week to cooperate with federal officials in a move that former prosecutors say would put U.S. lawmakers in legal jeopardy.
Mark Sherman / Associated Press:Abramoff Makes Plea Deal, Will Cooperate
Discussion:
IntoxiNation-News …
Jennifer C. Yates / Associated Press:
Rescuers to Push Deeper to Find Miners — TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. — Rescue crews scrapped their conservative approach to free 13 trapped miners Tuesday after efforts to contact the men went unanswered and air samples showed continued high levels of contaminated air.
Discussion:
PunditGuy
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Peter Lattman / Law Blog:
Article III Groupie Expected to Become Wonkette — Here's the latest buzz: Queen of the blogosphere Ana Marie Cox is said to be handing over the reins at her spicy political blog Wonkette. David Lat, the federal prosecutor who revealed himself to the New Yorker magazine in November …
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Paul E. Schroeder / Washington Post:
A Life, Wasted — Let's Stop This War Before More Heroes Are Killed — Early on Aug. 3, 2005, we heard that 14 Marines had been killed in Haditha, Iraq. Our son, Lance Cpl. Edward "Augie" Schroeder II, was stationed there. At 10:45 a.m. two Marines showed up at our door.
Reuters:
US Rep. Murtha says he wouldn't join military now — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rep. John Murtha, a key Democratic voice who favors pulling U.S. troops from Iraq, said in remarks airing on Monday that he would not join the U.S. military today. — A decorated Vietnam combat veteran who retired …
Discussion:
Macsmind, A Blog For All, Donklephant, QandO, THE ASTUTE BLOGGER, BlondeSense, Gateway Pundit, Blogs for Bush and ScrappleFace
E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
For Bush, a Test in the Midterms — Elections at midterm can be low-interest affairs or immensely important. This fall's congressional elections will be a big show with large consequences, because 2006 is looking a lot like the political years 1958, 1966 and 1978, all of which heralded major political transformations.
Eric Lipton / New York Times:
New Rules Set for Giving Out Antiterror Aid — Facing cuts in antiterrorism financing, the Department of Homeland Security plans to announce today that it will evaluate new requests for money from an $800 million aid program for cities based less on politics and more on assessments …
Richard A. Oppel Jr / New York Times:
Sunni Group Near Deal With Kurds on Iraqi Government — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 2 - The largest Sunni Arab political group in Iraq unexpectedly moved toward agreement with Kurdish leaders Monday on a broad framework for a coalition government. The group, the Iraqi Consensus Front …
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Sinan Salaheddin / Associated Press:Iraq's main Sunni Arabs group agrees on outlines of coalition government
Discussion:
PoliPundit.com
Griff Witte / Washington Post:
U.S. Cedes Duties in Rebuilding Afghanistan — KABUL, Afghanistan — Four years into a mammoth reconstruction effort here that has been largely led, funded and secured by Americans, the United States is showing a growing willingness to cede those jobs to others.
Alan Light / New York Times:
Songwriter Says Columbia Dropped Her in Fight Over Album — Nellie McKay, a young singer-songwriter whose 2004 album, "Get Away From Me," was one of the most acclaimed pop debuts in recent years, says she has been dropped by Columbia Records just as her follow-up was scheduled to reach stores.
Michael J. Totten / Opinion Journal:
Lebanon the Model — Iraq isn't the Arab world's first democracy. — BEIRUT, Lebanon—Of all the rationales for demolishing Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, the most compelling was the Middle East's desperate need for at least one free Arab democracy to act as a model and an inspiration …
Slate:
Tinker, Tailor, Miner, Spy — Why the NSA's snooping is unprecedented in scale and scope. — Fifty years ago, officers from the Signal Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, visited an executive from International Telephone and Telegraph and asked for copies …
