Top Items:
Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
Some in G.O.P. Say Iran Threat Is Played Down — Some senior Bush administration officials and top Republican lawmakers are voicing anger that American spy agencies have not issued more ominous warnings about the threats that they say Iran presents to the United States.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, The RBC, PBD, AMERICAblog, american footprints, Democrats.com, First Draft and Ms Underestimated
RELATED ITEMS:
Jerusalem Post:
Report: Iran planning nuclear 'surprise' — A senior official in Teheran said Wednesday that in the next few days, a "surprise" was expected regarding Iran's nuclear program, Al-Jazeera reported. — Teheran's apparent refusal to suspend uranium enrichment set the stage for a showdown at the UN Security Council later this month.
Discussion:
Hot Air, protein wisdom, Hyscience, The Political Pit Bull, Riehl World View, Liberty and Justice, Wizbang and Blue Crab Boulevard
Richard Cowan / Reuters:
Congress report faults U.S. intelligence on Iran — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. intelligence community is ill-prepared to assess Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities and its intentions for developing weapons of mass destruction, a congressional report said on Wednesday.
Minneapolis Star Tribune:
NWA flight disrupted; 12 arrested — A passenger on the India-bound plane — the man who first alerted the FBI to Zacarias Moussaoui five years ago — said the tense situation was handled well. — WASHINGTON - A Northwest Airlines plane flying from the Netherlands to India was escorted …
RELATED ITEMS:
CNN:
Northwest jet turns back; 12 arrested — Airline: Passengers unlatched seat belts, passed cell phones — AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands (CNN) — Twelve passengers were in custody Wednesday after a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Mumbai, India, returned to Amsterdam with a fighter jet escort, Dutch police said.
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
12 Passengers Detained After Plane Turns Back
12 Passengers Detained After Plane Turns Back
Discussion:
Reuters, BBC, Say Anything, Liberty and Justice, A Blog For All, The Strata-Sphere and The Jawa Report
Greg Myre / New York Times:
Gaza Captors of 2 Newsmen Pressure U.S. — An unknown Islamic group on Wednesday issued a sweeping demand for the release of all Muslim prisoners held in the United States in exchange for two Fox News television journalists seized at gunpoint last week in Gaza.
RELATED ITEMS:
Nicholas Wade / New York Times:
In New Method for Stem Cells, Viable Embryos — Biologists have developed a technique for establishing colonies of human embryonic stem cells from an early human embryo without destroying it. This method, if confirmed in other laboratories, would seem to remove the principal objection to the research.
RELATED ITEMS:
Rick Weiss / Washington Post:
New Method Makes Embryo-Safe Stem Cells — Scientists have for the first time grown colonies of prized human embryonic stem cells using a technique that does not require the destruction of embryos, an advance that could significantly reshape the ethical and political debates that have long entangled the research.
New York Times:
A Matter of Appearances — When Judge Anna Diggs Taylor was given the job of deciding whether the Bush administration's wiretapping program was unconstitutional, she certainly understood that she would be ruling on one of the most politically charged cases in recent history.
Discussion:
Say Anything
RELATED ITEMS:
Hotline On Call:
Exclusive: McCain's Web Team. And Nicco Mele. — Over the past several months, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has quietly recruited for his presidential campaign some of the most influential online strategists in the country, including one of the main architects of Howard Dean's pioneering website.
Discussion:
Jesus' General
RELATED ITEMS:
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
Bush's New Iraq Argument: It Could Be Worse — Of all the words that President Bush used at his news conference this week to defend his policies in Iraq, the one that did not pass his lips was "progress." — For three years, the president tried to reassure Americans that more progress was being made in Iraq than they realized.
Julian E. Barnes / Los Angeles Times:
Marines Who Served Will Be Ordered Back — The involuntary return to active duty will affect up to 2,500 reservists at a time. The Pentagon is scrambling to meet the demands of war. — WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps said Tuesday that it would begin calling Marines back to active-duty service …
RELATED ITEMS:
Charles Q. Choi / LiveScience:
Study: Polar Bear Genitals are Shrinking — The icecap may not be the only thing shrinking in the Arctic. The genitals of polar bears in east Greenland are apparently dwindling in size due to industrial pollutants. — Scientists report this shrinkage could, in the worst case scenario …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:
General: Iran Training Shiite Insurgents — WASHINGTON — The Iranian government is training and equipping much of the Shiite insurgency in Iraq, a senior U.S. general said Wednesday, drawing one of the most direct links by the Pentagon. — Brig. Gen. Michael Barbero also said it was too soon …
Scott Winship / Strategist:
The Uninformed Bloc — I know what you're thinking. I've failed to keep the faith. I've made a mockery of the "daily" in "Daily Strategist". I've been out lollygagging, making the rounds of the D.C. cocktail circuit. But lemme explain. There was a much needed trip to Boston …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, The Huffington Post, Attytood, Talking Points Memo, Seeing the Forest and unfutz
Richard Lloyd Parry / Times of London:
Death row bomber plotted new attack on smuggled laptop — ONE of the plotters of the deadly Bali bombings in 2002 raised funds for a second attack on the island via an internet connection from his cell on death row, a senior Indonesian policeman admitted yesterday.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
Washington Post:
Allen Calls Webb Aide, Apologizes For Remark — Virginia Sen. George Allen apologized directly to S.R. Sidarth yesterday, telling the 20-year-old Democratic campaign staffer that he was sorry for offending him with remarks that have generated nationwide criticism for being racially insensitive.