Bush Said to Have Cleared Early Release of Iraq Intelligence to Times  —  New York Sun Web Exclusive  —  A former White House aide under indictment for obstructing a leak probe, I. Lewis Libby, testified to a grand jury that he gave information from a closely-guarded "National Intelligence Estimate" …

Campaign Finance Measure Approved  —  House Bill Would Cap '527' Donations, Used Largely by Democrats  —  The House approved campaign finance legislation last night that would benefit Republicans by placing strict caps on contributions to nonprofit committees that spent heavily in the last election …

McKinney apologizes for scuffle with officer  —  Grand jury to hear testimony on incident, sources say  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Rep. Cynthia McKinney apologized on the House floor Thursday for a confrontation with a Capitol Police officer last week.  —  "There should not have been any physical contact …

Nowhere Man  —  Here are two serious links and one very serious piece of news.  The first serious link is an analysis of Iraq casualty numbers by Myelectionanalysis (hat tip: Mudville Gazette) … Myelectionanalysis expected to find the reverse of the actual numbers, as you would be led …

Climate Researchers Feeling Heat From White House  —  Scientists doing climate research for the federal government say the Bush administration has made it hard for them to speak forthrightly to the public about global warming.  The result, the researchers say, is a danger that Americans …

Promises to watch  —  Trust but verify.  —  Proponents of universal healthcare should adopt that Reagan-era maxim as they celebrate legislative approval of a bill to expand access to medical coverage to most of the uninsured in Massachusetts.  —  Maybe the plan approved by the House …

Iraqi Says Visit by Two Diplomats Backfired  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 5 — A top adviser to Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Wednesday that the visit this week by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of Britain had backfired, prolonging a deadlock …

Rumsfeld Challenges Rice on 'Tactical Errors' in Iraq  —  Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he did not know what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was talking about when she said last week that the United States had made thousands of "tactical errors" in handling the war in Iraq …

Program on Vouchers Draws Minority Support  —  WASHINGTON, April 5 — As a student at Shaw Junior High School here, Amie Fuwa strained to shut out the distractions of friends cutting up.  She struggled through math, and used photocopies or the library when textbooks were scarce.

Senate Dems to pursue new strategy on abortion  —  The Senate Democratic leadership says it has found a wedge issue to strengthen the party's position on abortion rights, which top strategists think has become a liability in recent years.  —  The wedge is legislation expanding access …

Poll Finds Steele May Be Magnet for Black Voters  —  Candidate's Ties to President Bush Judged a Potential Vulnerability  —  An internal document prepared by a top Democratic strategist warns that a majority of African American voters in Maryland are open to supporting Republican Senate …