Top Items:
Ezra Klein:
Hunting Slugs — I know I'm not supposed to, but I pity Michelle Malkin. Really, I do. Punditry is a game of incentives, encouragement, luck. You write a hundred articles before striking paydirt with one. That zeitgeisty dispatch activates an eruption of applause and adulation, so you try to repeat it.
Discussion:
The Peking Duck, Crooks and Liars, Mark in Mexico, Hullabaloo, Riehl World View, Flopping Aces, Preemptive Karma and Pharyngula
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Tim Whitmire / Associated Press:
Lawyer: 2 Duke Lacrosse Players Indicted — DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A grand jury issued sealed indictments Monday against two members of the Duke University lacrosse team in connection with allegations that a stripper was raped last month at a team party, a defense attorney said.
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ABCNEWS:
Exclusive: Guard Who Saw Alleged Duke Victim Says No Sign or Mention of Rape — Sealed Indictments Handed Down by Grand Jury — April 17, 2006 — The grand jury considering the Duke lacrosse team rape allegations has adjourned for the day and has handed down indictments, all of which are sealed.
Duff Wilson / New York Times:
2 Duke Lacrosse Players Indicted in Rape Case — DURHAM, N.C., April 17 - A state grand jury issued sealed indictments against two Duke University lacrosse players Monday in a case involving a woman who has accused three team members of raping her at a party last month, Robert C. Ekstrand …
Raleigh News & Observer:
No indictments in Duke lacrosse case — DURHAM — A Durham grand jury issued a list of indictments this afternoon that did not include members of the Duke University lacrosse team. — District Attorney Mike Nifong had been widely anticipated to seek charges today from the grand jury …
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Washington Post Wins Four Pulitzers — The Washington Post won four Pulitzer Prizes today, including awards for breaking open the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and disclosing the existence of secret CIA prisons overseas, while two newspapers whose regions were devastated by Hurricane Katrina shared the prize for public service.
Discussion:
Don Surber, War and Piece, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Left Coaster and This Blog Is Full Of Crap
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Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
Clueless Joe Wilson — How did the CIA's special envoy miss Zahawie's trip to Niger? — Nobody appears to dispute what I wrote in last week's Slate to the effect that in February 1999, Saddam Hussein dispatched his former envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency …
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William Branigin / Washington Post:
Changes to Bush Staff Expected Soon — Are heads rolling at the White House? Or just Easter eggs on the South Lawn? — President Bush's new chief of staff told White House aides this morning to expect a shakeup and asked anyone who was thinking of leaving to quit now, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
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Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
New Chief Signals White House Shake-Up — WASHINGTON, April 17 — The new White House chief of staff told senior aides on today that it was time to "refresh and energize" President Bush's team, signaling the likelihood of broad changes intended to shore up Mr. Bush's political standing.
Discussion:
Billmon
Digby / Hullabaloo:
At The Precipice — I find myself feeling a little bit depressed today. It's not the spectre of war with Iran, although I admit that scares the hell out of me. It's this: … I would say the US is at the precipice and the rule of law is breathing its last gasp.
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Jason Leopold / truthout.org:
State Department Memo: '16 Words' Were False — Eleven days before President Bush's January 28, 2003, State of the Union address in which he said that the US learned from British intelligence that Iraq had attempted to acquire uranium from Africa - an explosive claim that helped pave the way to war …
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Michelle Malkin:
TERROR IN TEL AVIV — Don't turn away: — Source: Yahoo! News — Getty Images caption: Tel Aviv, ISRAEL: An Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Zaka volunteer picks out pieces of flesh from the scene where a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up, in the southern Neveh Sha'anan district …
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Ronald Brownstein / Los Angeles Times:
Blame Builds More Barriers in Immigration Debate — Does chutzpah translate into Spanish? — It's a reasonable question after the joint statement House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) issued last week about the impasse blocking congressional action …
Discussion:
Democrat Taylor Marsh …, MyDD, The Sideshow, Talking Points Memo, Ezra Klein, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Collective Sigh
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Chicago Tribune:
Ryan found guilty on all counts — Co-defendant Warner also guilty — A federal jury convicted former Gov. George Ryan today on all charges that as secretary of state he steered state business to cronies in return for vacations, gifts and other benefits for himself and his family.
Discussion:
The RCP Blog, driftglass, Sentencing Law and Policy, TalkLeft and The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta
George Moneo / Babalu Blog:
April 17, 1961 (Updated) — The invasion that could have saved Latin America — Introduction — My father in law was a member of La Brigada 2506 and fought in the Bay of Pigs in what was called Operation Mongoose by the US Government. He has a million stories to tell …