Top Items:
Haaretz:
Ehud Olmert taking over prime ministerial powers — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a "significant" stroke with "massive bleeding" in his brain late Wednesday night, according to a Hadassah University Hospital official, and Sharon's authority has been transferred to Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
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Steve Weizman / Associated Press:
Israel's Sharon Suffers Massive Stroke — JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke Wednesday and was on a respirator after falling ill at his ranch. Doctors operated to drain excess blood from his brain. — Powers were transferred to his deputy, Vice Premier Ehud Olmert.
Elisabeth Rosenthal / New York Times:Difficulties in Treating This Type of Stroke
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Andrea Mitchell / MSNBC:
Reporter defends release of NSA spy program — James Risen says his sources are 'patriots,' CIA calls them 'unreliable' … Andrea Mitchell — New York Times reporter James Risen first broke the story two weeks ago that the National Security Agency began spying on domestic communications soon after 9/11.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, AMERICAN FUTURE, The Heretik, mediabistro, mediabistro and Proof Through the Night
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John / AMERICAblog:
NBC confirms it's investigating whether Bush spied on CNN's Christiane Amanpour — That is the only way to read NBC's just-issued statement on why they deleted key portions of Andrea Mitchell's interview after we reported on it here earlier today. — [Background: We reported earlier today …
Brian / mediabistro.com:
NBC Removed Reference To Amanpour To "Further Continue Our Inquiry" — Yesterday, MSNBC.com published a transcript of Andrea Mitchell's interview with author James Risen about the CIA's domestic spying program. In it, Mitchell asked Risen if he had uncovered evidence that CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour was eavesdropped upon.
Will / Attytood:Was Christiane Amanpour spied on — and more importantly, if so, why?
Discussion:
firedoglake
Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Surveillance Court Is Seeking Answers — The members of a secret federal court that oversees government surveillance in espionage and terrorism cases are scheduled to receive a classified briefing Monday from top Justice Department and intelligence officials about a controversial warrantless …
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Patricia Wilson / Reuters:
Cheney strongly backs eavesdropping operation — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday strongly defended a secret domestic eavesdropping operation and said that had it been in place before the September 11 attacks the Pentagon might have been spared.
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, AMERICAblog, Shakespeare's Sister, Big Brass Blog and The American Street
Katherine Shrader / Associated Press:
White House Told NSA Briefings Broke Law — WASHINGTON - The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee told President Bush Wednesday that the White House broke the law by withholding information from the full congressional oversight committees about a new domestic surveillance program.
Crooks and Liars:
Letterman to O'Reilly: "60% of what you say is crap" — Letterman to O'Reilly: "60% of what you say is crap" — Bill joined David last night on the Late Show and found that Letterman wasn't buying his phony war on Christmas deal. David also wasn't happy about his attacking Cindy Sheehan …
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Howard Fineman / MSNBC:
Winners and losers in the Abramoff scandal — The GOP could suffer, opening the way for a third-party movement — WASHINGTON - — Howard Fineman — Forget the black hat. Everybody here is obsessed with Jack Abramoff's gangster-like attire as he came out of the federal courthouse.
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White House:
Personnel Announcement — President George W. Bush today recess appointed the following individuals: — Floyd Hall, of New Jersey, to be a Member of the AMTRAK Reform Board. — Enrique J. Sosa, of Florida, to be a Member of the AMTRAK Reform Board. — Nadine Hogan, of Florida …
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americanchronicle.com:
LAWMAKERS CALL FOR IMMEDIATE CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS INTO MINE SAFETY TO HELP PREVENT ANOTHER TRAGEDY — Lawmakers Say Congress Has Abdicated its Oversight Responsibilities on Worker Safety Issues, While Bush Administration has Filled Worker Safety Agencies with Industry Insiders
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Kevin Drum / The Washington Monthly:SAFETY AT THE SAGO MINE....Ellen Smith, the editor of Mine Safety …
Discussion:
Facing South
Doug Bandow / Los Angeles Times:
The lesson Jack Abramoff taught me — I'VE LONG BEEN involved in the public eye, but only as a largely unassuming policy nerd. A couple of weeks ago, however, I found myself spotlighted as a player in l'affaire Jack Abramoff — Abramoff is the lobbyist who pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion.
New York Times:
Lobbyist Pleads Guilty in Fla.; 2nd Plea in 2 Days — MIAMI, Jan. 4 - A day after he pleaded guilty to three felony counts in Washington, Jack Abramoff, a once prominent Republican lobbyist, pleaded guilty today to two felony charges of conspiracy and fraud in a case stemming from his purchase of a casino boat line in 2000.
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John / AMERICAblog:
What was that about Abramoff giving money to Democrats? — Here is the list of who Abramoff gave money to, per Michael Petrelis' research: … That's 229 donations and not a DIME to Democrats. — The list of donations is long, but it makes a great visual, so I'm posting it anyway.
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Peter Jackson / Associated Press:
Lynn Swann Says He'll Run for Pa. Governor — PITTSBURGH - Former Steelers star Lynn Swann declared his candidacy for Pennsylvania governor Wednesday in the city where he made his name in professional football. — He told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday afternoon …
Discussion:
THE NEWS BLOG
Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Court approves Padilla transfer — The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to permit the transfer of terrorism suspect Jose Padilla from military custody to civilian custody, but took no action on Padilla's appeal challenging his capture and detention as an enemy combatant.
