Libby Says Bush Authorized Leaks  —  Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff has testified that President Bush authorized him to disclose the contents of a highly classified intelligence assessment to the media to defend the Bush administration's decision to go to war with Iraq …

Senate Republicans Strike Immigration Deal  —  WASHINGTON, April 5 — A group of Senate Republicans reached agreement Wednesday night on a compromise proposal that they hope can garner bipartisan support and bring passage of a bill on the future of the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants.

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 …

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 …

Another Massachusetts Miracle?  —  Yesterday, the Massachusetts House and Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill that would make the state the first to require all residents to have health insurance coverage.  If signed by Governor Mitt Romney and successfully implemented …

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 …

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 …

A.C.L.U. Says Ethnic Bias Steered Georgia Drug Sting  —  The American Civil Liberties Union is accusing federal prosecutors of ethnic bias in a sting last summer in which South Asian owners of convenience stores in Georgia were charged with selling household ingredients that could be used …

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.

Like to Tinker?  NASA's Looking for You  —  STEVE JONES doesn't have a workshop, exactly, for his miniature space elevator; he is designing it in his dorm room and in four labs scattered across the University of British Columbia.  —  He doesn't have a staff, either; a collection of friends …

Benzene Levels in Soft Drinks Above Limit  —  WASHINGTON - Cancer-causing benzene has been found in soft drinks at levels above the limit considered safe for drinking water, the Food and Drug Administration acknowledged Wednesday.  —  Even so, the FDA still believes there are no safety concerns …

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 …

Arrest of Official Prompts Probe By House Panel Into DHS Hiring  —  The arrest of a Department of Homeland Security deputy press secretary on charges that he used a computer to seduce and send pornography to a child has triggered a congressional inquiry into hiring practices and security clearance policies at the department.

Zeyad, blogger and journalist  —  Some big news in the blogging world, revealed today in the Wall Street Journal (free link):  —  Zeyad, the amazing blogger behind Healing Iraq, a founding father of the Iraqi blogosphere, has been accepted to the City University of New York's new Graduate School of Journalism (where I'll be teaching).

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 …

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 …