Top Items:
The Raw Story:
Pelosi asks congressman snared in bribery probe to resign post — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has formally asked Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) to resign from the powerful Ways and Means Committee. — Jefferson wrote Pelosi quickly in reply, refusing to surrender his seat.
RELATED ITEMS:
Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
Hastert Demands FBI Return Documents — The FBI's raid on a Democrat's office rippled through Capitol Hill Wednesday, with Republicans demanding that the bureau surrender documents and other items its agents seized under what lawmakers said were unconstitutional circumstances.
Rachel L. Swarns / New York Times:
Senate Advances Sweeping Immigration Bill — WASHINGTON, May 24 — The Senate voted on Tuesday to require employers to use a vast new employment verification system that would allow businesses to distinguish between legal and illegal workers. — The chances of the bill's passage increased sharply today …
RELATED ITEMS:
Edwin Meese Iii / New York Times:
An Amnesty by Any Other Name ... IN the debate over immigration …
An Amnesty by Any Other Name ... IN the debate over immigration …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Hugh Hewitt, QandO, Decision '08, Wizbang, The Claremont Institute, Power Line, Freeman Hunt, PrestoPundit and Expose the Left
Charles Babington / Washington Post:
House-Senate Battle On Immigration Likely
House-Senate Battle On Immigration Likely
Discussion:
New York Times, TAPPED, NewDonkey.com, Talking Points Memo, Blue Crab Boulevard, Air America Radio and On Deadline
TCS Daily:
Inconvenient Truths Indeed — Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" opens around the country this week. In the film Gore pulls together evidence from every corner of the globe to convince us that climate change is happening fast, we are to blame, and if we don't act immediately, our Earth will be all but ruined.
RELATED ITEMS:
Gregg Easterbrook / New York Times:
Finally Feeling the Heat — TODAY "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore's movie about the greenhouse effect, opens in New York and California. Many who already believe global warming is a menace will flock to the film; many who scoff at the notion will opt for Tom Cruise or Tom Hanks.
Laura Blumenfeld / Washington Post:
Bill Frist: A Doctor at Heart — The houses were dark on Bill Frist's street. A morning bird chirped; the others were waiting for dawn. But Frist was awake, and his bedroom light was on. "I'm going to take a shower," the Senate majority leader said brightly. Ten minutes later, the blow dryer roared.
RELATED ITEMS:
Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:
Is U.S. Ready for Hurricane Season? — Chertoff Expresses Confidence, but Katrina's Impact Lingers — U.S. disaster-preparedness officials declared themselves ready yesterday for the June 1 onset of hurricane season, amid mounting anxiety in Gulf Coast states hit by last year's devastating storms …
RELATED ITEMS:
Dexter Filkins / New York Times:
Armed Groups Propel Iraq Toward Chaos — Haider Hamid was arrested in Baghdad on April 15 by officers wearing Interior Ministry uniforms, according to Mr. Hamid's brother, Majid. Majid Hamid found his brother's body, above, showing signs of torture, five days later in the city morgue.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Informed Comment, David Corn, Andrew Sullivan, QandO, The Mahablog, Just a Bump in the Beltway, BBC and Air America Radio
RELATED ITEMS:
Mary Katharine Ham / Townhall.com:
In need of moral clarity — "I was aiming to follow in the footsteps of one of my role-models, Muhammad Atta." … Do you remember Taheri-azar? The 25-year-old Iranian graduate of the University of North Carolina rented an SUV in March and drove it into The Pit, a campus gathering place for UNC students.
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt, Daily Pundit, Outside The Beltway, Blue Crab Boulevard, dartblog.com and La Shawn Barber's Corner
RELATED ITEMS:
Michael Warren / Detroit News:
Keep 'America' in Michigan schools — State bureaucrats want to do what Stalin, Osama could only dream about — C ensoring the word "America" from our own schools is something Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden would never have thought possible. Michigan has done it without a whimper.
Jason Horowitz / New York Observer:
Senator McCain Worked Blue — On New York Stage — Behind Closed Doors, Republican Works in Material: 'I'd Tell Shiites and Sunnis, "Stop the Bulls**t"'; Fresh From Falwell, Attacks Right-Wing Nativism — For all the national attention surrounding John McCain's two highly anticipated …
Nico / Think Progress:
Desperate for Supporters, DeLay Turns to Stephen Colbert — A good sign that Tom DeLay doesn't have the facts on his side: the top source for his latest defense against his critics is Stephen Colbert. — This morning, DeLay's legal defense fund sent out a mass email criticizing the movie …
Stephanie Strom / New York Times:
A.C.L.U. May Block Criticism by Its Board — The American Civil Liberties Union is weighing new standards that would discourage its board members from publicly criticizing the organization's policies and internal administration. — "Where an individual director disagrees with a board position …
Eli Pariser / The Huffington Post:
Desperate Telcos: When the Going Gets Tough, the Absurd Rumors Get Going — Opponents of Internet freedom seem shocked that Google, MoveOn, the Christian Coalition, and 700 other diverse organizations are fighting on the same side to preserve the Internet that has revolutionized democratic participation …
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Any differences between Democrats in 2003 and today? — (updated below) — Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday essentially assured that President Bush's nominee to head the CIA, Gen. Michael Hayden, would not only be confirmed by the full Senate, but confirmed overwhelmingly.
Revere / Effect Measure:
Indonesia: probably H2H2H — WHO is now saying what could be inferred from their update yesterday: it is likely that for the first time H5N1 has spread from human to human to human — three generations of cases, possibly four. This does not mean that a pandemic strain has started but it is another warning signal.