Abramoff Gets Minimum Sentence  —  Former Lobbyist to Spend 5 Years, 10 Months in Prison  —  MIAMI, March 29 — Jack A. Abramoff, the once-powerful Republican lobbyist at the center of a major corruption scandal, was sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in prison for his role …

THE AMERICAN FLAG COMES SECOND  —  ***scroll for updates...new photo added below of a student in Dallas screamed at by an angry mob for carrying an American flag...plus fence-hopping at Montebello H.S...unreality-based Ted Kennedy gets the Clueless Blowhard of the Day Award...chanting in Las Vegas …

Card's Departure Seen as a Sign President Hears Words of Critics  —  A few weeks ago, President Bush's spokesman dismissed talk of an impending staff change as "inside Washington babble."  —  White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr.'s resignation yesterday suggests that Bush was listening.

Democrats Pledge to 'Eliminate' Osama  —  WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats promise to "eliminate" Osama bin Laden and ensure a "responsible redeployment of U.S. forces" from Iraq in 2006 in an election-year national security policy statement.  —  In the position paper to be announced Wednesday …

Bush Opposes Iraq's Premier, Shiites Report  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 29 — The American ambassador has told Shiite officials that President Bush does not want the Iraqi prime minister to remain the country's leader in the next government, senior Shiite politicians said Tuesday.

Time Magazine's Michael Ware from Baghdad.  —  HH: Joining me now live from Baghdad is Michael Ware, bureau chief for Time Magazine.  Michael, welcome to the Hugh Hewitt Show.  —  MW: Thanks, Hugh.  —  HH: Michael, we met each other courtesy of CNN on a couple of editions of Anderson Cooper's program last week.

Senators End Right to Derail Votes Secretly  —  Nearing a vote on ethics and lobbying rules that many say are too weak, they also defeat a bid to create an independent public integrity office.  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday voted to strip its members of the power to secretly place a …

Judges on Secretive Panel Speak Out on Spy Program  —  WASHINGTON, March 28 — Five former judges on the nation's most secretive court, including one who resigned in apparent protest over President Bush's domestic eavesdropping, urged Congress on Tuesday to give the court a formal role in overseeing the surveillance program.

Afghan convert given Italy asylum  —  The Italian cabinet has approved a request for asylum from an Afghan who escaped a possible death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity.  —  Welfare Minister Roberto Maroni said the case of Abdul Rahman, 41, was now in the hands of the interior ministry.

'The Last Helicopter'  —  Mideast dictators try to "wait Bush out."  They may be miscalculating.  —  Hassan Abbasi has a dream—a helicopter doing an arabesque in cloudy skies to avoid being shot at from the ground.  On board are the last of the "fleeing Americans," forced out of the Dar al-Islam …

Saudis, with Pakistani help, working on nuclear programme  —  BERLIN (AFP) - Saudi Arabia is working secretly on a nuclear programme, with help from Pakistani experts, a German magazine reports in its latest edition, citing Western security sources.  —  The German magazine Cicero says that during …

'War' on Christians Is Alleged  —  Conference Depicts a Culture Hostile to Evangelical Beliefs  —  The "War on Christmas" has morphed into a "War on Christians."  —  Last December, some evangelical Christian groups declared that the religious celebration of Christmas — and even the phrase …

Voters in Israel Support Parties Vowing Pullout  —  JERUSALEM, Wednesday, March 29 — Israelis voted Tuesday to bring to power a new centrist party, Kadima, which is committed to a further pullout from the occupied West Bank.  —  Kadima's leader, Ehud Olmert, will become prime minister …

Victory for Speech: Putting 1606 back in the holster  —  As you know - the FEC issued VERY permissive regulations earlier this week.  What remained was the question about what to do with HR 1606.  Thankfully, the House Leadership has taken the prudent course: pull the bill off the calendar and hold it in reserve.

Appeals Court: Rep. McDermott Violated Law in Leaking Taped Call  —  WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Rep. Jim McDermott violated federal law by turning over an illegally taped telephone call to reporters nearly a decade ago.  —  In a 2-1 opinion, the U.S. Court …

Rubber Stamp Republican Congress: Citizen Action Update  —  Morning everyone — happy Jack Abramoff Sentencing in Florida Day.  Looks like Jack still has a few friends on the Hill.  But today, it's all about the sentencing judge — and the proffer as to what cooperation Jackie Boy has been giving the Feds.

Iraq: Prosecutions threaten freedom of expression in northern Iraq  —  Amnesty International is greatly concerned by the prosecutions of two critics of the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq and the threat these pose to freedom of expression in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.