Top Items:
Joshua Partlow / Washington Post:
Maliki's Office Is Seen Behind Purge in Forces — A department of the Iraqi prime minister's office is playing a leading role in the arrest and removal of senior Iraqi army and national police officers, some of whom had apparently worked too aggressively to combat violent Shiite militias …
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Robin Wright / Washington Post:
Saudi King Declines to Receive Iraqi Leader — In a serious rebuff to U.S. diplomacy, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has refused to receive Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the eve of a critical regional summit on the future of the war-ravaged country, Iraqi and other Arab officials said yesterday.
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, New York Times, Middle Earth Journal, Taylor Marsh, Greatscat!, democracyarsenal.org and All Spin Zone
Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Court rules on two patent cases, and on high-speed chase — The Supreme Court, in a major victory for Microsoft Corp., ruled by a 7-1 vote on Monday that U.S. patent law does not bar foreign making of copies of digital code to be installed in computers made and sold abroad.
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George Tenet / HarperCollins Publishers:
At the Center of the Storm — Price: — $19.95 — On Sale: — In the whirlwind of accusations and recriminations that emerged in the wake of 9/11 and the Iraq war, one man's vital testimony has been conspicuously absent. Candid and gripping, At the Center of the Storm recounts George Tenet's …
Discussion:
News Hounds
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Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
GOP's Base Helps Keep Unity on Iraq — With public opinion tilting firmly toward ending U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq, Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R-Md.) might have expected praise for his votes that would start to bring the troops home. Instead, at town hall meetings on the Eastern Shore …
Discussion:
The Impolitic, TalkLeft, Wake up America, Eunomia, Firedoglake, TPMCafe blogs, First Read and Booman Tribune
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Run, Chuck, Run — The 20 percent or so of Americans who still think we're winning in Iraq happen to be the Republican base. And so the GOP in Congress has to pick between surviving their own primaries, maintaining civility with their own faithful, and potentially getting wiped out in the next election.
The Blotter:
D.C. Madam Wants Washington Clients to Testify — Brian Ross, Rhonda Schwartz & Justin Rood Report: — The woman charged in a federal indictment with running a high-class Washington, D.C. call girl service says she plans to call her prominent clients to testify at her trial.
Discussion:
WSJ.com, Crooks and Liars, Taylor Marsh, PoliBlog (TM), Shakesville, Democrats.com and Pajamas Media
Paul Caron / TaxProf Blog:
Today is Tax Freedom Day® — The Tax Foundation has announced that today (the 120th day of 2007) is Tax Freedom Day® — Americans will work four months of the year, from January 1 to April 30, before they have earned enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels.
Simon Barnes / Times of London:
Climate change hits Mars — Mars is being hit by rapid climate change and it is happening so fast that the red planet could lose its southern ice cap, writes Jonathan Leake. — Scientists from Nasa say that Mars has warmed by about 0.5C since the 1970s. This is similar to the warming experienced …
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Quiet Bush Aide Seeks Iraq Czar, Creating a Stir — Stephen J. Hadley would be the first to tell you he does not have star power. But Mr. Hadley, the bespectacled, gray-haired, exceedingly precise Washington lawyer who is President Bush's national security adviser, is in the market for someone who does …
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, DallasMorningViews, Norwegianity, TAPPED, Cliff Schecter and CorrenteWire
John Tierney / TierneyLab:
Hurwitz Jurors Explain Their Verdict — Since the verdict in the Hurwit trial on Friday, I've interviewed three of the twelve jurors, and they told pretty much the same story. They said that the jury considered Dr. William Hurwitz to be a doctor dedicated to treating pain …
Bean / a bird and a bottle:
GIMME A BREAK, BILL — William Saletan (who may or may not be known as Bill) is Slate's grandaddy of abortion. He's written a book on the topic, and it's fair to say that he's pretty knowledgable. But that doesn't mean he always gets it right. And his column today is a bright flashing indicator of that.
Sarah Baxter / Times of London:
Watergate reporter demolishes Hillary's career story — Drawing on a trove of private papers from Hillary Clinton's best friend, the legendary Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein is to publish a hard-hitting and intimate portrait of the 2008 presidential candidate, which will reveal a number of "discrepancies" in her official story.
MSNBC:
The long reach and ambitions of al-Qaida — Tenet book details chilling plots to kill Gore, acquire nuclear weapons — April 30: Former CIA Director George Tenet talks with NBC News' Tom Brokaw about his new book. — Today show — NEW YORK - Former CIA Director George Tenet's defense …
Josh Gerstein / New York Sun:
Clinton and Obama Raiding Donors Who Backed Bush — As senators Clinton and Obama crisscross the country seeking the Democratic presidential nomination and sharply criticizing President Bush, they have been collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors who funded one or both of Mr. Bush's campaigns for the White House.
2theadvocate.com:
Politics Notebook for April 29, 2007 — Blanco hints she's not out of running — Gov. Kathleen Blanco would not deny she is considering re-entering the governor's race when questioned by TV reporters Thursday at the Governor's Mansion. — "This is Louisiana and lots of exciting things …
Anne E. Kornblut / Washington Post:
Clinton's PowerPointer — With Data and Slides, a Pollster Guides Campaign Strategy — It was fairly simple, Mark J. Penn said calmly to Vice President Al Gore, reporting the findings of an exhaustive survey he had conducted in the early stages of the 2000 presidential campaign.