Top Items:
New York Times:
Court to Oversee U.S. Wiretapping in Terror Cases — The Bush administration, in a surprise reversal, said on Wednesday that it had agreed to give a secret court jurisdiction over the National Security Agency's wiretapping program and would end its practice of eavesdropping without warrants on Americans suspected of ties to terrorists.
RELATED:
Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Secret Court to Govern Wiretapping Plan — The Justice Department announced today that the National Security Agency's controversial warrantless surveillance program has been placed under the authority of a secret surveillance court, marking an abrupt change in approach by the Bush administration after more than a year of heated debate.
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
FISA and the President — together again — (updated below - updated again - and again) — Everything I know about the FISA story is contained in this AP article, which I just read, and in this letter from Attorney General Gonzales to Senators Leahy and Specter.
David Stout / New York Times:
White House Says Judiciary Will Monitor Spy Program — The Bush administration, in what appears to be a concession to its critics, said today it will allow an independent court to monitor its warrantless electronic-eavesdropping program. — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told the leaders …
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Climbdown On Warrantless Surveillance (Updated And Bumped) — The Bush administration has apparently concluded that fighting to retain the warrantless surveillance program with a Democratic Congress would eventually be unsuccessful, and today announced that the presidential authorization for the program would not be renewed.
Discussion:
TalkLeft
James Vicini / Reuters:
Bush won't reauthorize eavesdropping — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush has decided not to renew a program of domestic spying on terrorism suspects, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said on Wednesday, ending an law-enforcement tactic criticized for infringing on civil liberties.
Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:
DID A FISA JUDGE APPROVE THE ENTIRE TSP? [IMPORTANT UPDATE: In light of the latest news, I no longer think this is happening. See my latest post above.] I'm not entirely sure I know what to make of Attorney General Gonzales's letter today about the NSA surveillance program …
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Nothing to celebrate — (updated below - updated again with correction)
Nothing to celebrate — (updated below - updated again with correction)
Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Transcript: DoJ Officials Discuss NSA, FISA
Transcript: DoJ Officials Discuss NSA, FISA
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy
Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:
Shiite Fighters Arrested in Crackdown, Iraq Says — Facing intense pressure from the Bush administration to show progress in securing Iraq, senior Iraqi officials announced Wednesday that they had moved against the country's most powerful Shiite militia, arresting several dozen senior members in the past few weeks.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
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Stephen Farrell / Times of London:
Give us guns - and troops can go, says Iraqi leader
Give us guns - and troops can go, says Iraqi leader
Discussion:
Dean's World
Washington Post:
Libby Jury Selection Seen as Challenge — To see just how small a town Washington really is, drop in on jury selection at the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, where nearly every candidate so far seems to have some connection to the players or events surrounding the leak of an undercover CIA officer's identity.
RELATED:
knbc.nbcweatherplus.com:
Snow Falls In West LA, Malibu — CHP To Escort Motorists Through Icy Grapevine — SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — Snow fell on the palm trees of West Los Angeles and Malibu Wednesday afternoon as Jack Frost visited the Southland again. — Images: Malibu, West LA Snow — Video
CBS News - Couric & Co.:
Katie: A Woman At The Table — One week ago, Katie sat down for a briefing at the White House, and noticed something unusual. — Last Wednesday, President Bush gave his address to the country about "the new way forward" for Iraq, and lots of journalists—including me, of course—were in Washington to cover it.
Ronald Brownstein / Los Angeles Times:
Commanding majority opposes more troops in Iraq — WASHINGTON — A commanding majority of Americans oppose President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq and just over half the country wants Congress to block the deployment, a Times/Bloomberg poll has found.
Ezra HaLevi / Arutz Sheva:
Exclusive: Jimmy Carter Interceded on Behalf of Nazi SS Guard — A former U.S. Justice Department official disclosed to Arutz-7 that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's advocacy extended beyond the Palestinians, when he interceded on behalf of a Nazi SS man.
Greg Sargent / electioncentral.tpmcafe.com:
Obama's Turn: Says He'll Introduce Iraq Legislation Calling For Phased Withdrawal — Barely moments after Hillary Clinton concluded her press conference this afternoon calling for a "cap" on the number of troops in Iraq, Barack Obama's office sent out a statement saying that he, too, would be introducing his own Iraq legislation.