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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.
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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.
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Firedoglake, Obsidian Wings, The Gavel, Bench Conference, The Daily Background, Macsmind, Political Animal, Multi Medium, Mercury Rising, The Thinkery, The Anonymous Liberal, Seeing the Forest, My Left Wing, Matthew Yglesias, Taylor Marsh, Confederate Yankee, CorrenteWire, MyDD, Talking Points Memo, Patterico's Pontifications 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 …
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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
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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. "
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.
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 …
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 …
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 …
Lawrence Mead / Washington Post:
And Now, 'Welfare Reform' for Men — Reforms in the 1990s shifted more than 60 percent of mothers off the welfare rolls, mostly into jobs. The changes used both "help and hassle" — new subsidies for wages and child care coupled with stiffer demands to work as a condition of aid.