Top Items:
Houston Chronicle:
2 dead in JSC hostage standoff — A NASA contract worker barricaded himself inside a Johnson Space Center building Friday and killed one of two hostages before committing suicide. — William A. Phillips, a 60-year-old engineer, fatally shot co-worker David Beverly in the chest …
RELATED:
CNN:
Gunman knew engineer he killed at NASA, police say … HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) — A NASA engineer Friday shot and killed another engineer and then turned the gun on himself at the Johnson Space Center, police and NASA officials said. — The shootings occurred in a single office in Building 44 on the sprawling campus.
Discussion:
IMAO
Michelle Homer / Associated Press:
JSC gunman kills hostage, himself — A gunman who took two hostages inside building 44 at JSC killed one of them, then took his own life Friday afternoon. — A second hostage, a woman who had been bound with tape, was rescued. — She was taken to an area hospital by ambulance but was walking …
Fox News:
Bush Defends Iraq War; Republicans Blast Harry Reid for Saying Fight Is 'Lost' — WASHINGTON — President Bush fought off Democratic criticism over his handling of the war in Iraq Friday after fellow Republicans blasted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's comments that the war is 'lost.'
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Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:
MIDDLE EASTERN MEDIA TAKE UP REID'S "WAR IS LOST": Iranian Press TV reports, in response to Reid's statement: … A Republican party e-mail also reported the following as translations of items from Al-Jazeera Online, and Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, "The Leading Arabic International Daily"; please let me know if the translations are inaccurate:
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
No Surrender — [Ross] So Harry Reid announced that he thinks the war in Iraq is "lost," prompting general outrage on the right - capped off by Mark Levin's call for Reid's resignation: … Here's my question: Is there any imaginable point in any imaginable conflict where Mark Levin would admit that the United States had lost a war?
Chris Kraul / Los Angeles Times:
Iraqi tribal chiefs forming an anti-insurgent party — The Sunni sheiks aim to set up a council and enter elections. They also seek to enhance U.S. troops' image. — RAMADI, IRAQ — A group of Sunni tribal leaders in beleaguered Al Anbar province said Thursday that it intended to form …
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Todd Pitman / Associated Press:
Iraqi insurgents now fighting each other
Iraqi insurgents now fighting each other
Discussion:
The Strata-Sphere
CNN:
Administration officials say Gonzales should step down … WASHINGTON (CNN) — Several administration officials and the House Republican Conference chairman said Friday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should step down, following the harsh response to his Senate testimony on last year's firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
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John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
A coward named Derbyshire — You've probably read the NRO's very own John Derbyshire's insane rant against the victims of the VT shooting. In his twisted mind he thought his logic was sound and repeated that he wasn't criticizing the students, but merely raising a point of conversation.
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Abdul Sattar / Associated Press:
Jihadist video shows boy beheading man — KILI FAQIRAN, Pakistan - The boy with the knife looks barely 12. In a high-pitched voice, he denounces the bound, blindfolded man before him as an American spy. Then he hacks off the captive's head to cries of "God is great!" and hoists it in triumph by the hair.
Discussion:
Michael P.F. van der Galiën
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Jesse Lee / The Gavel:
House Passes Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation Act — The House has passed the Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation Act, by a vote of 269-134. — Passage came after defeat of a Republican motion to recommit with instructions. As background, the C-Span Congressional Glossary provides the following definition:
Associated Press:
Vermont Senate calls for impeachment of Bush … MONTPELIER, Vermont (AP) — Vermont senators voted Friday to call for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, saying their actions in Iraq and the U.S. "raise serious questions of constitutionality."
Associated Press:
Va. gunman's family feels hopeless, lost — BLACKSBURG, Va. - The family of Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho told The Associated Press on Friday that they feel "hopeless, helpless and lost," and "never could have envisioned that he was capable of so much violence." — "He has made the world weep.
RELATED:
Pete Williams / MSNBC:
Cho prepared in advance for rampage
Cho prepared in advance for rampage
Discussion:
Hot Air, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, On Deadline, Ace of Spades HQ, Telegraph Blogs and Oliver Willis
Washington Post:
House Approves A Full D.C. Seat — Biggest Step Toward Vote Since '70s; Bill Faces High Hurdles in the Senate — A bill giving the District its first full seat in Congress cleared the House yesterday, marking the city's biggest legislative victory in its quest for voting rights in nearly three decades.
Glenn Thrush / Newsday:
Rutgers team skips Clinton meeting — NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton finally dropped by Rutgers to meet with the school's women's basketball coach — but the players themselves skipped the half-hour meeting, citing their studies and Imus fatigue.
Discussion:
Cadillac Tight
Aaron Brazell / Outside The Beltway:
Virginia Tech and What the Blogosphere is Doing — There is a move afoot in the blogosphere that declares April 30th a One Day of Silence. The move, as much as it is linkbait (the badges they give you link back to the One Day site), is a move that is not without controversy.
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
The Axis Of Embarrassment (Updated ... BS?) — See update below — not very credible. — Bloggers today have been linking to an article in The Spectator, a well-regarded British magazine, written by Daily Mail columnist Melanie Philips regarding Iraqi WMDs.