Top Items:
ABCNEWS:
U.S. Strike Killed Al Qaeda Bomb Maker — Terror Big Also Trained 'Shoe Bomber,' Moussaoui — Jan. 18, 2006 — ABC News has learned that al Qaeda's master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert was one of the men killed in last week's U.S. missile attack in eastern Pakistan.
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Simon Jenkins / Guardian:
The west has picked a fight with Iran that it cannot win — Washington's kneejerk belligerence ignores Tehran's influence and the need for subtle engagement — Never pick a fight you know you cannot win. Or so I was told. Pick an argument if you must, but not a fight.
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Jeffrey H. Birnbaum / Washington Post:
Loophole in Lobbying Bill Leaves Wiggle Room — Lawmakers are about to bombard the American public with proposals that would crack down on lobbyists. Several prominent plans, including one outlined yesterday by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), would specifically ban meals and privately paid travel for lawmakers.
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Los Angeles Times:
UCLA Alumni Group Is Tracking 'Radical' Faculty — A fledgling alumni group headed by a former campus Republican leader is offering students payments of up to $100 per class to provide information on instructors who are "abusive, one-sided or off-topic" in advocating political ideologies.
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Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
PART D, AS IN DEBACLE: — So just how badly is President Bush's Medicare prescription drug program, known as "Part D," going? On Tuesday morning, I landed in Nashville, Tennessee, to find this bold headline atop the Tennessean front page: "PHARMACISTS DECRY MEDICARE CHAOS."
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Ceci Connolly / Washington Post:
HHS Works to Fix Drug Plan Woes — Widespread Difficulties With New Medicare Benefit Reported — President Bush's top health advisers will fan out across the country this week to quell rising discontent with a new Medicare prescription drug benefit that has tens of thousands of elderly …
Discussion:
firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, The Carpetbagger Report, Eschaton, Think Progress and The Sideshow
Associated Press:
Supreme Court Steers Clear of First Abortion Case in 5 Years — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that a lower court was wrong to strike down New Hampshire abortion restrictions, steering clear of a major ruling on whether such laws place an undue burden on women.
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Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
2002 Memo Doubted Uranium Sale Claim — WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 - A high-level intelligence assessment by the Bush administration concluded in early 2002 that the sale of uranium from Niger to Iraq was "unlikely" because of a host of economic, diplomatic and logistical obstacles …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Power Line, The American Street, The Huffington Post, Everything Between, QandO, TAPPED, Rantingprofs, The Next Hurrah, First Draft, Mia Culpa, Wonkette and Needlenose
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James Webb / New York Times:
Purple Heartbreakers — IT should come as no surprise that an arch-conservative Web site is questioning whether Representative John Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has been critical of the war in Iraq, deserved the combat awards he received in Vietnam.
Garance Franke-Ruta / TAPPED:
THE LAMENESS OF THE LEFT. This may seem like one of those small intra-New York left controversies, and yet it is the kind of thing that happens so frequently in so-called progressive circles around the country that it's worth noting, because it's just this kind of thing that makes people wonder …
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Associated Press:
Death row elder needed 2 injections — Last words: 'Hoka hey, it's a good day to die' — SAN QUENTIN, California (AP) — In the end, California's oldest condemned inmate did not seem quite as feeble as his attorneys made him out to be in their efforts to save his life.
U.S. Newswire:
Leading Conservatives Call for Extensive Hearings on NSA Surveillance; Checks on Invasive Federal Powers Essential — Contact: Laura Brinker, 202-715-1540, for Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances, laura.brinker@dittus.com — WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 /U.S. Newswire …
Richard Winton / Los Angeles Times:
Former Teen Idol Garrett Charged With Heroin Possession — Seventies teen idol Leif Garrett was charged this morning with possession of heroin after his arrest in the Pershing Square subway station over the weekend. — Garrett was due to appear in Los Angeles County Superior Court later today.
Toronto Star:
Liberals scramble after Hargrove calls Harper separatist — Martin forced to issue statement praising Tory leader's patriotism — LONDON, Ont. — The Liberals are in full damage control this afternoon after a high-profile campaign endorsement by the head of Canada's largest private-sector labour union turned disastrous.
Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:
Update 15: White House Lobs Accusations at Gore — Former Vice President Al Gore and the White House traded accusations over national security Tuesday in a dispute that also pulled in President Bush's other presidential election rival, John Kerry. — At issue was Bush's secret domestic …
Thomas Ferraro / Reuters:
Senate Democrat backs Alito for US Supreme Court — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a moderate voice in the U.S. Congress, on Tuesday became the first Senate Democrat to announce his support for conservative Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, who is expected to be confirmed later …
Gabriel Sherman / New York Observer:
Risen Gave Times A Non-Disclosure On Wiretap Book — New York Times editors published reporter James Risen's December account of National Security Agency wiretapping without having seen the manuscript of Mr. Risen's book on the same subject, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the events.
