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" …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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).

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 …

NASCAR SMACKS DOWN NBC  —  I spoke this afternoon with Ramsey Poston, managing director of corporate communications at NASCAR.  He's on his way down to Texas for the NASCAR race this weekend, and he responded to NBC Dateline's undercover Muslim stings, which I first reported on yesterday morning.

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 …

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.

U.S. Rolls Out Nuclear Plan  —  The administration's proposal would modernize the nation's complex of laboratories and factories as well as produce new bombs.  —  The Bush administration Wednesday unveiled a blueprint for rebuilding the nation's decrepit nuclear weapons complex …

U.S. Officials Are Mulling Iran Strikes, Experts Say  —  Plans Stepped Up as Tehran Tests Weapons  —  Key players in the Bush administration think a military confrontation with Iran is an unavoidable, leading to stepped up military planning for such a prospect, according to several experts …