E-Mails Show Machinations to Replace Prosecutor  —  Administration Worked for Months to Make Rove Aide U.S. Attorney in Arkansas  —  Two months before Bud Cummins was fired as U.S. attorney in Little Rock, a protege of presidential adviser Karl Rove was maneuvering with the Justice Department to take his place.

Liberals Relent on Iraq War Funding  —  House Likely to Pass Bill With Pullout Date  —  Liberal opposition to a $124 billion war spending bill broke last night, when leaders of the antiwar Out of Iraq Caucus pledged to Democratic leaders that they will not block the measure, which sets timelines for bringing U.S. troops home.

Michael Yon threatened with expulsion by a general  —  This is stupid.  Michael Yon and Bill Roggio are the best out there.  Telling Michael Yon to exit the theater is the WWII equivalent of telling Ernie Pyle to quit filing dispatches.  —  Everyone knows the PAO system has never …

Retreat and Butter  —  TODAY THE House of Representatives is due to vote on a bill that would grant $25 million to spinach farmers in California.  The legislation would also appropriate $75 million for peanut storage in Georgia and $15 million to protect Louisiana rice fields from saltwater.

Thoughts on John and Elizabeth Edwards  —  The first time I got bad medical news was 11 years ago.  I responded what with then was (and sometimes still is) characteristic bluster.  I confidently told my doctor that I would crush this little obstacle and soon resume my life as normal.

British Forces Held By Iran  —  The Government is demanding the "immediate and safe return" of 15 British sailors and Marines who are being held by Iranian forces.  —  They were taking part in a routine operation boarding merchant ships in Iraqi territorial waters when they were seized by Iranian naval vessels.

The real scandal at the LA Times  —  Hollywood movie blogger-writer Nikke Finke broke a pretty juicy scandal in which an LA Times editor had an affair with the press liaison for a Hollywood mogul, who just happened to be to be the guest editorial page editor for the Sunday newspaper.

New to Pentagon, Gates Argued for Closing Guantánamo Prison  —  In his first weeks as defense secretary, Robert M. Gates repeatedly argued that the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, had become so tainted abroad that legal proceedings at Guantánamo would be viewed …

Politics, Lies, and 93 v. 8  —  David Brooks has an excellent column today, and not for the usual reasons that liberals praise Brooks (and he drives conservatives crazy): because he comes halfway toward us.  It's because, in discussing the US Attorneys story, he nails a distinction that I, at least, was struggling with.

Army Revises Upward the Number of Desertions  —  A total of 3,196 active-duty soldiers deserted the Army last year, or 853 more than previously reported, according to revised figures from the Army.  —  The new calculations by the Army, which had about 500,000 active-duty troops at the end of 2006 …

Police: Pakistan cricket coach murdered  —  KINGSTON, Jamaica - The genteel sport of cricket was dealt a brutal blow when Jamaican police said Pakistan's national coach was murdered in his hotel room a day after his team suffered a humiliating World Cup loss.

Court strikes down Internet porn law … PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday dealt another blow to government efforts to control Internet pornography, striking down a 1998 U.S. law that makes it a crime for commercial Web site operators to let children access "harmful" material.

Ex-Interior No. 2 to plead guilty in Abramoff lobbying probe  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles will plead guilty to one count of obstruction of justice in the Jack Abramoff corruption investigation, The Associated Press has learned.

Fewer pledge allegiance to the GOP  —  A poll says 35% of those surveyed identify with Republicans.  Public attitudes seem to be drifting toward Democrats' values.  —  WASHINGTON — Public allegiance to the Republican Party has plunged during George W. Bush's presidency …

Clinton: 'It's just not fair'  —  Former President Bill Clinton yesterday complained that "it's just not fair" the way his wife, presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), is being depicted for her controversial Iraq war vote.  —  Speaking to hundreds of supporters on conference call …