Top Items:
CNN:
Two plead not guilty to Boston hoax charges … CHARLESTOWN, Massachusetts (CNN) — Two men pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges they created panic by placing "bomblike" electronic light boards displaying a cartoon character with an upraised middle finger throughout Boston.
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Boston Herald:
Outraged Menino vows no mercy for stunt: Sham suspects arraigned — A furious Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino vowed yesterday to throw the book at the masterminds behind a guerrilla marketing campaign gone amok that plunged the city into bomb-scare pandemonium and blew nearly $1 million in police overtime and other costs.
Discussion:
The Peking Duck
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: The Boston pranksters' surreal, moronic press conference
Video: The Boston pranksters' surreal, moronic press conference
Discussion:
ProfessorBainbridge.com ®
Jay Lindsay / Associated Press:
TV network's gimmick sparks Boston arrests; in Seattle, it's no big deal
TV network's gimmick sparks Boston arrests; in Seattle, it's no big deal
Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press:
Senate ups wage to $7.25 over two years — WASHINGTON - The Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to boost the federal minimum wage by $2.10 to $7.25 an hour over two years, but packaged the increase with controversial tax cuts for small businesses and higher taxes for many $1 million-plus executives.
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Bob Geiger:
Senate Democrats Hammer Through Minimum Wage Hike — The celebration must be starting in the offices of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) right about now. — Just moments ago, by a resounding vote of 94-3, the United States Senate passed legislation raising the Federal Minimum Wage for the first time in a decade.
Doug Mellgren / Associated Press:
Al Gore nominated for Nobel Peace Prize — OSLO, Norway - Former Vice President Al Gore was nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his wide-reaching efforts to draw the world's attention to the dangers of global warming, a Norwegian lawmaker said Thursday.
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U.S. Newswire:
Landmark Legal Foundation Nominates Rush Limbaugh for 2007 Nobel Peace Prize — Contact: Eric Christensen of Landmark Legal Foundation, +1-703-554-6100, +1-703-554-6119 (fax), eric@landmarklegal.org — LEESBURG, Va., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Landmark Legal Foundation today nominated …
Defense Tech:
BREAKING: DOUBLE THE TROOPS IN "SURGE" (UPDATED) — President Bush and his new military chiefs have been saying for nearly a month that they would "surge" an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, in a last, grand push to quell the violence in Baghdad and in Anbar Province.
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Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Analysis: "Surge" Far Larger Than 20,000 Troops
Analysis: "Surge" Far Larger Than 20,000 Troops
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report
William M. Arkin / Early Warning:
A Note to My Readers on Supporting the Troops — I knew when I used the word "mercenary" in my Tuesday column that I was being highly inflammatory. — NBC News ran a piece in which enlisted soldiers in Iraq expressed frustration about waning American support.
Discussion:
Riehl World View, Blue Crab Boulevard, veteranamerican.info, Outside The Beltway, Media Blog and FishBowlDC
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William M. Arkin / Early Warning:
The Arrogant and Intolerant Speak Out — Well, one thing's abundantly clear about who will actually defend our rights to say what we believe: It isn't the hundreds who have written me saying they are soldiers or veterans or war supporters or real Americans — who also advise me to move to another country …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Power Line, Redstate, ProfessorBainbridge.com ®, Blue Crab Boulevard, Liberty Street, ZenPundit, The Strata-Sphere, Winds of Change.NET, iowahawk, Andrew Olmsted dot com, BLACKFIVE, The Sundries Shack, Ace of Spades HQ, QandO, The Heretik, Riehl World View, Stop The ACLU, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Macsmind, Wake up America, Pierre Legrand's Pink …, UrbanGrounds, NewsBusters.org, Confederate Yankee, Media Blog, Jules Crittenden, Little Green Footballs, First Draft, Sister Toldjah, Right Wing Nut House and Transterrestrial Musings
Associated Press:
FBI Agent Testifies Libby Learned About Plame from Cheney — WASHINGTON The "CIA leak" trial resumed today, after two critical days of testimony from reporters Judith Miller and Matt Cooper. As in past days, E&P will provide running updates here. — After a long day or legal wrangling …
Discussion:
CANNONFIRE
RELATED:
Tom Lasseter / Real Cities:
Mahdi Army gains strength through unwitting aid of U.S. — BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military drive to train and equip Iraq's security forces has unwittingly strengthened anti-American Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which has been battling to take over much of the capital city …
Michelle Malkin:
The NYTimes' unspeakable violation — Before Bryan Preston and I embedded at FOB Justice, we had to read and agree to a clear set of ground rules, including this one: — Apparently, the NYTimes didn't think the rules applied to them. Yesterday, the Houston Chronicle blew the whistle …
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit, Houston Chronicle, Bookworm Room, NewsBusters.org, Hyscience and Little Green Footballs
RELATED:
Michael Hedges / Houston Chronicle:
N.Y. Times to apologize for photo, video of soldier
N.Y. Times to apologize for photo, video of soldier
Discussion:
GINA COBB
Martin Crutsinger / Associated Press:
2006 personal savings drop to 74-yr. low — WASHINGTON - People once again spent everything they made and then some last year, pushing the personal savings rate to the lowest level since the Great Depression more than seven decades ago. — The Commerce Department reported Thursday …
Discussion:
The Reaction, Suburban Guerrilla, Donklephant, Hang Right Politics, Angry Bear, Viking Pundit and BrothersJudd Blog
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Senate Critique of Bush's Iraq Plan Wins New Support — WASHINGTON - A revised Senate resolution criticizing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq, offered by Senator John Warner, Republican of Virginia, drew new support today as two of the authors of a sterner resolution of disapproval said they would accept the Warner compromise.
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
McCain, Giuliani Skipping Some Conservative Events — A speech given by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney before a National Review-sponsored conference last week may have been panned as unfocused, but in the eyes of those who attended, he at least had one thing going for him: He showed up.
Newsweek:
The 'Lame Duck' Label — With a series of media events, President Bush is working hard to avoid the negative tag as he enters the last two years of his presidency. — On Tuesday, President Bush popped in for a surprise visit to the Sterling Family Restaurant, a homey diner in Peoria …
Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:
The soft bigotry of blowhards — Wesley Clark et al should watch what they say and how they say it. — WESLEY CLARK, the retired general and once — and no doubt future — presidential candidate, says the United States is going to attack Iran. How does he know?
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Blog news — Beginning next Thursday, February 8, this blog will be moving to Salon, where it will be a featured front-page blog (full access to Salon is available by subscribing or for free, by clicking through an ad to obtain a 24 hour day pass). I will also be a Salon Contributing Writer and will write …
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, Done With Mirrors, skippy the bush kangaroo and Crooks and Liars