Documents highlight Gonzales' role in the firings  —  WASHINGTON - Internal Bush administration e-mails suggest that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales may have played a bigger role than he has acknowledged in the plan to fire several U.S. attorneys.  —  The e-mails, delivered to Congress Friday night …

Public Takes Up Pros and Cons of Edwards Bid  —  Important policy debates about the course of the nation in the next presidential election are still out there and will no doubt return.  But for one day, many people all over the country seemed able to pause and reflect on something deeper …

Flakking Purgegate  —  FLAKKNG PURGEGATE....Brad DeLong flags an email from last night's document dump that was highlighted by one of Josh Marshall's readers.  A White House flak (Catherine Martin) wants to know who's on the purge list and a DOJ flak (Tasia Scolinos) answers.

Hill bill protects flying public  —  House Republicans are pushing legislation to protect airline passengers from lawsuits for reporting suspicious behavior that might be linked to a terrorist attack.  —  Rep. Steve Pearce, New Mexico Republican, introduced the Protecting Americans Fighting Terrorism Act …

South Africa Lowers Voice on Human Rights  —  Modern South Africa came about, historians agree, in part because of the United Nations' unrelenting stance against apartheid.  The United Nations affirmed that South African racism was not merely an internal political problem, but a threat to southern Africa.

Jeb Bush Denied Honor at U. of Florida  —  GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - University of Florida President Bernie Machen said Friday he was "tremendously disappointed" with the school's Faculty Senate vote to deny former Gov. Jeb Bush an honorary degree.  —  The Senate voted 38-28 Thursday …

Supreme court ban on liberal party wipes out opposition to Putin  —  Russia's next parliament is likely to have no genuine opposition after a court in Moscow yesterday banned a leading liberal party from standing in elections.  —  Russia's supreme court announced that it had liquidated …

Hypocrisy on the Hill  —  WASHINGTONIANS probably could live with Republicans' sabotaging their latest chance at congressional representation; that's nothing new.  More galling are those Republicans too gutless to admit their true position.  —  Take, for example, the condescending statement …

The not-so-simple story of Barack Obama's youth  —  Shaped by different worlds, an outsider found ways to fit in  —  HONOLULU — The life stories, when the presidential candidate tells them, have a common theme: the quest to belong.  —  A boy wants to find his place in a family …

The Saturday Cartoons  —  As a bonus today, our friend Nick Anderson of the Houston Chronicle, who is also the President-elect of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, tips us to a great collection of his cartoons related to the Iraq war that he has posted on his web site.

Knight of the Living Dead  —  SINCE the release of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's dramatic confessions, moral outrage at the extent of his crimes has been mixed with doubts.  Can his claims be trusted?  What if he confessed to more than he really did, either because of a vain desire to be remembered …

Exclusive: Iranians Had Showdown With U.S. Forces  —  As the British government demanded the immediate release of 15 of its sailors whose boats were seized by Iranian naval vessels in the Persian Gulf on Friday, U.S. News has learned that this is not the first showdown that coalition forces have had with the Iranian military.

WATCH LIVE: New Leadership On Health Care 2008 Presidential Forum  —  The Democratic presidential candidates are in Las Vegas today for the New Leadership on Health Care 2008 Presidential Forum.  ThinkProgress is featuring exclusive streaming video.  Watch it live at 9am PT/noon ET: