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.
Discussion:
ynetnews.com, Atlas Shrugs, THE ASTUTE BLOGGER, Mere Rhetoric, Israellycool and Talking Points Memo
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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.
Steven Erlanger / New York Times:
Israeli Leader Suffers Serious Stroke — JERUSALEM, Thursday, Jan. 5 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a serious stroke Wednesday night after being taken to the hospital from his ranch in the Negev desert, and he underwent brain surgery early today to stop cerebral bleeding, a hospital official said.
Herb Keinon / Jerusalem Post:PM suffers serious stroke, cerebral hemorrhaging
Discussion:
the talking dog
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.
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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 …
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.
Will / Attytood:Was Christiane Amanpour spied on — and more importantly, if so, why?
Discussion:
firedoglake
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.
Discussion:
The Washington Note, The Moderate Voice, The Mahablog, Democrat Taylor Marsh …, Hullabaloo and Brendan Nyhan
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New York Times:Lobbyist Pleads Guilty in Fla.; 2nd Plea in 2 Days
Discussion:
Democrat Taylor Marsh …
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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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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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.
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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 …
Discussion:
AMERICAN FUTURE
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.
Greg Mitchell / Editor and Publisher:
Media Reports Miracle Mine Rescue — Then Carries the Tragic Truth — NEW YORK In one of the most disturbing and disgraceful media performances of this type in recent years, television and newspapers carried the tragically wrong news late Tuesday and early Wednesday that 12 of 13 trapped coal miners …
Discussion:
The Mahablog, americanchronicle.com, This Blog Is Full Of Crap, Michelle Malkin, Attytood, New York Times, News Blog, sisu, Captain's Quarters, Confined Space, Gateway Pundit, The Huffington Post, Liberty Street, The Belmont Club, PSoTD, The Florida Masochist, Brilliant at Breakfast, mediabistro, PunditGuy, Media Blog on National …, mediabistro, Peace Like A River, slacktivist, Wizbang, Poynter Online and A MOCKINGBIRD'S MEDLEY
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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.
Discussion:
Concurring Opinions
