Lawyer says McKinney a victim in scuffle  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for Rep. Cynthia McKinney, the Georgia congresswoman who had an altercation with a Capitol Police officer, says she was "just a victim of being in Congress while black."  —  McKinney awaited word Friday on whether …

Jill Carroll forced to make propaganda video as price of freedom  —  CAIRO - The night before journalist Jill Carroll's release, her captors said they had one final demand as the price of her freedom: She would have to make a video praising her captors and attacking the United States, according to Jim Carroll.

New Poll: Americans Favor a Guest Worker Plan  —  79% say illegal immigrants should have the chance to work here, but most want tougher enforcement too  —  Americans polled by TIME magazine show strong support for a guest-worker program and a process for undocumented workers to become citizens …

Ex-DeLay Aide Pleads Guilty  —  Deal Protects Tony C. Rudy From Additional Charges  —  A former top aide to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) pleaded guilty to conspiracy today and promised to aid a wide-ranging federal investigation into corrupt lobbying practices.

To Bloggers from Borders  —  An Open Letter from Gregory P Josefowicz CEO/Chairman of the Board/President/Director, Borders Books to Charles Johnson, Director, Pajamas Media, CEO Little Green Foosballs, Rock 'N' Roller in the Free World, Stealth Cyclist.  —  Dear Mr. Johnson (or may I call you "Charles"?),

Air America Anniversary, Sacramento, New York City, Al Franken, Bill O'Reilly  —  DEBACLE  —  After Two Years, How Else To Describe Air America?  —  As certain as the presence of a dozen Dunkin' Donuts outlets in every New England town, today's second Air America Radio on-air anniversary …

Army bans use of privately bought armor  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Soldiers will no longer be allowed to wear body armor other than the protective gear issued by the military, Army officials said Thursday, the latest twist in a running battle over the equipment the Pentagon gives its troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As France Approves Labor Law, Students Block Roads and Rails  —  PARIS, March 30 —France's Constitutional Council ruled this evening that a disputed labor law that has brought more than a million protesters into the streets was valid, setting the stage for further confrontation.

Intelligence Office Has Swollen, House Panel Says  —  A bipartisan vote seeks to curb funds if further growth of the oversight agency can't be justified.  A separate bid to stem NSA funds is killed.  —  WASHINGTON — The House Intelligence Committee voted Thursday to withhold funding …

Immigration tensions spark flag-burning in A.J.  —  This week's tensions over immigration reform literally caught fire in the East Valley on Thursday when students raised a Mexican flag over Apache Junction High School — and then other students yanked it down and burned it.

Church fires photog over Scalia picture: Freelancer pays for 'right thing'  —  A freelance photographer has been fired by the Archdiocese of Boston's newspaper for releasing a picture of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia making a controversial gesture in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Sunday.

Whose Backlash?  —  Hundreds of thousands of Mexican citizens, along with Mexican-Americans and Hispanics in general, hit the streets throughout the United States this past week in one of the largest displays of public outrage since the Vietnam-War era.  —  The conventional wisdom …

JADED?....As Bob Somerby and Peter Daou and Media Matters have all pointed out, it really is remarkable how little attention the confirmation of David Manning's explosive prewar memo has gotten in the past week.  Here's what the New York Times reported on Monday:

Money  —  Ah, money.  John Aravosis brings the subject up again.  A few comments on his post, which is well worth reading:  —  1. No one should be surprised that, one-on-one, politicians are really, really nice.  It's their job to be nice.  If you think about it for twenty seconds …

FBI's Mueller: Hezbollah Busted in Mexican Smuggling Operation  —  FBI Director Robert Mueller said this week that his agency busted a smuggling ring organized by the terrorist group Hezbollah that had operatives cross the Mexican border to carry out possible terrorist attacks inside the U.S.

Rice admits "thousands" of errors in Iraq  —  BLACKBURN (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accepted on Friday the United States had probably made thousands of errors in Iraq but defended the overall strategy of removing Saddam Hussein.  —  Local Muslims and anti-war activists told Rice …

Study fails to show healing power of prayer  —  CHICAGO (Reuters) - A study of more than 1,800 patients who underwent heart bypass surgery has failed to show that prayers specially organized for their recovery had any impact, researchers said on Thursday.  —  In fact, the study found …