Top Items:
Associated Press:
Senate limits Gonzales' hiring authority — WASHINGTON - The Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to end the Bush administration's ability to unilaterally fill U.S. attorney vacancies as a backlash to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' firing of eight federal prosecutors.
RELATED:
Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
TPM Needs YOU to Comb Through Thousands of Pages — Josh and I were just discussing how in the world we are ever going to make our way through 3,000 pages when it hit us: we don't have to. Our readers can help. — So here's what we're going to do. This comment thread will be our HQ for sorting through tonight's document dump.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Obsidian Wings, The Gavel, The Daily Background, Macsmind, Political Animal, Multi Medium, Mercury Rising, The Thinkery, Seeing the Forest, My Left Wing, Matthew Yglesias, Taylor Marsh, Confederate Yankee, CorrenteWire, MyDD, Patterico's Pontifications, Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos
New York Times:
White House Voices Support for Gonzales — The Senate voted overwhelmingly today to revoke the authority it granted the Bush administration last year to name federal prosecutors without Senate confirmation. — By a vote of 94 to 2, the Senate restored the previous system for naming federal prosecutors.
Washington Post:
Fitzgerald Ranked During Leak Case — U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald was ranked among prosecutors who had "not distinguished themselves" on a Justice Department chart sent to the White House in March 2005, when he was in the midst of leading the CIA leak investigation that resulted …
Discussion:
CNN Political Ticker, New York Times, CNN, JustOneMinute, Making Light, NO QUARTER, Sister Toldjah, Captain's Quarters, The Caucus, Patterico's Pontifications, The Impolitic, PoliBlog (TM), Law Blog, The Daily Background, Shakespeare's Sister, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, The Mahablog, The Daily Dish, Jules Crittenden, Multi Medium, Think Progress, AMERICAblog, TIME: Swampland, The Democratic Daily and Michael P.F. van der Galiën
NY Daily News:
Gonzo's a goner? — AG's exit called inevitable despite Dubya's 'personal reluctance'
Gonzo's a goner? — AG's exit called inevitable despite Dubya's 'personal reluctance'
Discussion:
Real Cities, The Huffington Post, The Carpetbagger Report, DownWithTyranny! and The Politico
Allan Hall / Daily Mail:
'We want this baby polar bear dead' say animal rights lobby — Tiny, fluffy and adorable, Knut the baby polar bear became an animal superstar after he was abandoned by his mother. — He rapidly became the symbol of Berlin Zoo, whose staff bottle-fed him and handed out cuddles in between
RELATED:
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
"Bong Hits 4 Jesus," "Bong Hits 4 Jesus," "Bong Hits 4 Jesus"... It never gets old, does it? It's funny, and it will always be funny. "Bong Hits 4 Jesus." People will be laughing about that line in Conlaw classes years and years from now. I hope the Supreme Court writes an interesting opinion …
RELATED:
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Up in Smoke at the High Court
Up in Smoke at the High Court
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, Wonkette, All Spin Zone, SCOTUSblog, Law Blog, Betsy's Page and Central Sanity
Dave Wedge / Boston Herald:
Mitt's Commie phrase sparks rage — Cubans in Miami are steaming mad at former Gov. Mitt Romney for shooting his mouth off in stumbling Spanish, mispronouncing names and erroneously associating a notorious Fidel Castro-spewed Communist catch phrase with freedom fighters.
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
War Bill Includes Tempting Projects — Democrats' Tactic Poses Dilemma for Some Lawmakers — House Democratic leaders are offering billions in federal funds for lawmakers' pet projects large and small to secure enough votes this week to pass an Iraq funding bill that would end the war next year.
Gordon Cucullu / New York Post:
THE IRAQ SURGE: WHY IT'S WORKING ... 'I WALKED down the streets of Ramadi a few days ago, in a soft cap eating an ice cream with the mayor on one side of me and the police chief on the other, having a conversation. " This simple act, Gen. David Petraeus told me, would have been "unthinkable" just a few months ago. "
Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
G.O.P. Candidates Confront Immigration Politics — Immigration, an issue that has divided Republicans in Washington, is reverberating across the party's presidential campaign field, causing particular complications for Senator John McCain of Arizona. — The topic came up repeatedly …
Rick Klein / Boston Globe:
Obama's record shows caution, nuance on Iraq — WASHINGTON — As Senator Hillary Clinton continues to take heat for her vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq, her presidential rival, Senator Barack Obama has used his long-running opposition to the war as a cornerstone of his campaign …
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup Poll:
Giuliani Top Choice Among Both Moderate, Conservative Republicans — Gingrich, Romney do better among conservatives than moderates — PRINCETON, NJ — With the 2008 Republican presidential field beginning to come into shape, there are still questions and apparent opportunities for a favorite "conservative" candidate to emerge.
Jay Mathews / Washington Post:
Charter School Effort Gets $65 Million Lift — The charter school movement, begun 16 years ago as an alternative to struggling public schools, will today make its strongest claim on mainstream American education when a national group announces the most successful fundraising campaign …
John Solomon / Washington Post:
FBI Issues New Rules For Getting Phone Records — The FBI, which has been criticized for improperly gathering telephone records in terrorism cases, has told its agents they may still ask phone companies to voluntarily hand over toll records in emergencies by using a new set of procedures, officials said yesterday.
Discussion:
The Heretik
Eric Pfeiffer / Washington Times:
Climate scientist sees cover-up — A NASA scientist who said the Bush administration muzzled him because of his belief in global warming yesterday acknowledged to Congress that he'd done more than 1,400 on-the-job interviews in recent years. — James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute …