Top Items:
Associated Press:
Justices Back Most G.O.P. Changes to Texas Districts — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld most of the Texas congressional map engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay but threw out part, saying some of the new boundaries failed to protect minority voting rights.
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Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Decisions: No ruling on Hamdan; partisan gerrymander claim rejected — (NOTE: The Chief Justice announced that the Court will issue remaining decisions in the Term at 10 a.m. Thursday. The two still-undecided cases are the war crimes tribunal case (Hamdan v. Rumsfeld) …
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Piling On the New York Times With a Scoop — Story on Secret Program Further Rouses Critics — President Bush calls the conduct of the New York Times "disgraceful." Vice President Cheney objects to the paper having won a Pulitzer Prize. A Republican congressman wants the Times prosecuted.
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New York Times:
Patriotism and the Press — Over the last year, The New York Times has twice published reports about secret antiterrorism programs being run by the Bush administration. Both times, critics have claimed that the paper was being unpatriotic or even aiding the terrorists.
Discussion:
The Glittering Eye, Michelle Malkin, The Huffington Post, The Hill Blog, Thoughts of an Average Woman, The American Thinker, QandO, The Heretik, Liberty and Justice, Sweetness & Light, Preemptive Karma, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Tammy Bruce, ProfessorBainbridge.com, A Blog For All and NewsBusters.org
Bryan Bender / Boston Globe:
Terrorist funds-tracking no secret, some say — Cite White House boasts of tighter monitoring system — WASHINGTON — News reports disclosing the Bush administration's use of a special bank surveillance program to track terrorist financing spurred outrage in the White House and on Capitol Hill …
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
9/11 Commission Chair: 'A Good Program Is Over' — Byron York interviewed Thomas Kean, the 9/11 Commission chairman, on the revelation of the covert terror-finance intelligence operation in the New York Times last week. Kean tells the National Review's White House correspondent that he tried …
Aussie Dave / Israellycool:
Operation Summer Rains — Before dawn today, IDF tanks and troops went into Gaza. Their mission is clear: to secure the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. As National Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio: … According to an army source …
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Ibrahim Barzak / Associated Press:
Israelis keep pressure on Palestinians — RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Israel turned up the pressure on Palestinian militants to release a captive soldier Wednesday, sending its warplanes to bomb a Hamas training camp after knocking out electricity and water supplies for most of the 1.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip.
Discussion:
BBC, CNN.com International, All Things Beautiful, Mia Culpa, Left I on the News and Truthdig
Yaakov Katz / Jerusalem Post:
IDF captures airstrip, gains foothold east of Rafah
IDF captures airstrip, gains foothold east of Rafah
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Israel Matzav, Liberty and Justice, Power Line, A Blog For All and Yourish.com
Avi Issacharoff / Haaretz:
For first time, Hamas-led government calls for prisoner swap
For first time, Hamas-led government calls for prisoner swap
Discussion:
New York Times, PoliBlog, Israel Matzav, A Blog For All, PartisanTimes.com, FP Passport, israpundit.com and Yourish.com
Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Bush's Use of Authority Riles Senator — WASHINGTON, June 27 — Senators on the Judiciary Committee accused President Bush of an "unprecedented" and "astonishing" power grab on Tuesday for making use of a device that gave him the authority to revise or ignore more than 750 laws enacted since he became president.
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David Espo / Associated Press:
Obama: Democrats Must Court Evangelicals — WASHINGTON — Sen. Barack Obama chastised fellow Democrats on Wednesday for failing to "acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people," and said the party must compete for the support of evangelicals and other churchgoing Americans.
Discussion:
The Republic of T., The Carpetbagger Report, MyDD, Firedoglake, David Sirota, Ezra Klein, The Agonist, Hot Air, AMERICAblog, Eschaton and Street Prophets
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Not Quite the Banner Day One Might Have Hoped For — As the Senate's flag-desecration debate heated up yesterday and the sparks began to fly — but before the smoke cleared — the amendment's backers were asked a burning question: Is this the most important issue facing the nation?
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CNN:
Senator seeks tax on pimps, prostitutes — Grassley: 'It's a no-brainer to have the IRS go after sex traffickers' — NEW YORK (CNN) — Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is hoping to stamp out the sex trade by taxing pimps and prostitutes, then jailing them when they don't pay.
Discussion:
Bring it On!, Simianbrain, Balloon Juice, The Carpetbagger Report, Right Angle Blog and Hit and Run
Brock Vergakis / Associated Press:
U.S. Rep. Cannon wins Republican primary — SALT LAKE CITY - U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon (news, bio, voting record) said his solid victory in Utah's Republican primary is good news for President Bush and those seeking a consensus on immigration policy this year.
Discussion:
sltrib.com, Right Wing News, CNN, Captain's Quarters, The Strata-Sphere, The Heretik and Right Angle Blog
Omar / IRAQ THE MODEL:
Breaking News...Samarra bombers arrested!! — In a news conference currently being broadcast on TV, Iraq's national security advisor Muwaffak al-Rubaie says Iraqi security forces arrested Abu Qudama al-Tunisi in a raid in the suburb of al-Dhuloiya north of Baghdad.
Discussion:
Austin Bay Blog, The Belmont Club, PrairiePundit, Liberty and Justice and Blue Crab Boulevard
Meghan O'Rourke / Slate:
A Working Girl Can Win — THE CASE AGAINST STAYING AT HOME WITH THE KIDS. — Get to work, Linda Hirshman admonished American women in a polemical article in the American Prospect last December, in which she argued that it's imperative for women not to "opt out" of employment to stay home with the kids.
Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:
A Single Person Could Swing an Election — Electronic Systems' Weaknesses May Be Countered With Audits, Report Suggests — To determine what it would take to hack a U.S. election, a team of cybersecurity experts turned to a fictional battleground state called Pennasota …
Porkbusters:
we need to stop this... now — Guest Contributor: Sen. John McCain — Last week I had the honor of speaking to a group of my fellow Republicans at the presidential library of one of my heroes — President Ronald Reagan. — When I was first elected to Congress, I was one of many newly elected members …
Discussion:
Beltway Blogroll, Liberty and Justice, Andrew Sullivan, Ankle Biting Pundits and Blue Crab Boulevard
Josef Federman / Associated Press:
Home Fly-By Sends Message to Syrian Leader — Israeli warplanes buzzed the summer residence of Syrian President Bashar Assad early Wednesday, military officials said, in a message aimed at pressuring the Syrian leader to win the release of a captured Israeli soldier.
David Espo / Associated Press:
House GOP to focus on abortion, guns — WASHINGTON - House Republicans intend to hold votes this summer and fall touching on abortion, guns, religion and other priority issues for social conservatives, part of an attempt to improve the party's prospects in the midterm elections.
Pew Research Center:
Democrats More Eager to Vote, But Unhappy with Party — Gay Marriage, Inheritance Tax Among the Lowest Public Priorities — Summary of Findings — With less than five months to go before Election Day, Democrats hold two distinct advantages in the midterm campaign that they have not enjoyed for some time.