CIA Leak Prosecutor Goes to Grand Jury  —  WASHINGTON - Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald early Wednesday went before a federal grand jury looking into the leak of the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame.  —  It is believed to be only the second session the prosecutor …

Snow takes White House job  —  Fox News analyst replaces McClellan as press secretary  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush announced his new White House press secretary on Wednesday: former Fox News host Tony Snow.  —  "As a professional journalist, Tony Snow understands the importance …

Loose lips win Pulitzers  —  Four of the prizes honored Bush-bashing and leaking secrets.  How is that good?  —  ON JUNE 7, 1942, shortly after the Battle of Midway, the Chicago Tribune carried a scoop: "Navy Had Word of Jap Plan to Strike at Sea."  The story, written by a correspondent …

Bush Takes Steps to Ease Increase in Energy Prices  —  WASHINGTON, April 25 — President Bush announced a series of short-term steps on Tuesday intended to ease the rise in energy prices, including a suspension of government purchases to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve …

Senate Panel Considers Hearing on Rumsfeld  —  The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, underscoring lawmakers' concerns about the Iraq war's progress, said yesterday that he may invite testimony from retired generals who have called for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to resign.

'PROGRESSIVE' MEDIA STALLS: 'AIR AMERICA' IN AUDIENCE PLUNGE NYC, 'DAILY KOS' BOOK SELLS ONLY 3,600 COPIES  —  Left-leaning new media has hit turbulence at the marketplace, newly released stats show.  —  A book hyped by major media as documenting a progressive revolution of "blogs" …

Socialists: Give apes human rights  —  The Spanish Socialist Party will introduce a bill in the Congress of Deputies calling for "the immediate inclusion of (simians) in the category of persons, and that they be given the moral and legal protection that currently are only enjoyed by human beings."

Percentage of Uninsured Americans Rising  —  NEW YORK - The percentage of working-age Americans with moderate to middle incomes who lacked health insurance for at least part of the year rose to 41 percent in 2005, a dramatic increase from the 28 percent in 2001 without coverage, a study released on Wednesday found.

Rather may blog after leaving CBS  —  Last night I had a 5-minute talk with Dan Rather, former CBS News anchor and managing editor.  We covered topics that weren't covered in the 1.5 hour interview with Orville Schell.  Dan Farber of CNET took a picture of us talking.

Bush, senators agree on alien citizenship, shut out critics  —  President Bush and a group of senators yesterday reached general agreement on an immigration bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for many illegal aliens.  —  But left out of the closed-door White House meeting were senators who oppose a path to citizenship.

Is the Press Covering the Iraq War On the Cheap?  —  The media needs to send more "troops" to cover the war and provide much-needed coverage.  What's stopping them?  Fear of violence, certainly, but also limits on training and insurance.  Joe Galloway also notes the military's "growing resistance" to embeds.

McCarthy in Denial  —  Outed CIA analyst Mary McCarthy is denying through her lawyers that she was the source for the Washington Post's Dana Priest in revealing the secret prisons that housed terrorists overseas.  McCarthy's lawyers, though, aren't throwing cold water on the notion that McCarthy …

U.S. media response to cartoons skewered  —  As dozens gathered Tuesday night in a University of Chicago lecture hall to discuss the visceral and sometimes violent reaction to cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, Muslim students who had been invited decided to watch a movie across campus instead.

101st Fighting Keyboarder Uniforms  —  Whenever you visit a rightwing site, you are sure to see "those" tshirts.  I saw an ad for them on the Washington Times the other day.  Now, I know that wingnuts have great sense of humor as you can tell by the huge number of successful comedians and humorists on the right.

German Brothel Removes Muslim Flags Amid Threats  —  It must have seemed like a good idea at the time.  Europe's largest brothel, the Pascha in Cologne, which incidentally claims to be the world's only brothel with a money-back guarantee for dissatisfied customers, attached the flags …