memeorandum: Downtown prepares for May Day gridlock (Los Angeles Times)

3:00 PM ET, May 1, 2007

Top Items:

Mussab Al-Khairalla / Reuters:

Al Qaeda in Iraq leader killed: Interior Ministry — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was killed on Tuesday in an internal fight between insurgents, the Interior Ministry spokesman said, but the U.S. military said it could not confirm the report.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Heretik, Wake up America, Jules Crittenden, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Jihad Watch, The Impolitic, Op For, Secular Blasphemy, PoliBlog (TM) and Michelle Malkin

CNN:

Tribes claim leader of al Qaeda in Iraq killed … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Unconfirmed reports that al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri has been killed come from local tribes and not Iraq's intelligence services or military, an Iraqi government spokesman said Tuesday.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, WorldwideStandard.com, Confederate Yankee and Scared Monkeys

Pajamas Media:

Al-Qaeda Chief in Iraq Killed? — Iraqi government and media are reporting that Al-Qaeda leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri has been killed. — Pajamas Media will be tracking throughout the day... [New Items on Top] — ABC News changes homepage screen alert (now "FRIENDS OF ROBERT LEVINSON …

Discussion: Ankle Biting Pundits, Redstate, Riehl World View, Fausta's blog and The Belmont Club

Think Progress:

ABC: Reports Of Masri's Death False, 'Part Of A Misinformation Campaign' … Digg It!

Discussion: Daily Kos and TalkLeft

Abu Aardvark:

Masri dead again? — IraqSlogger is reporting the death of al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayub al-Masri at the hands of Sunni tribesmen (al-Jazeera has the story, but no additional information; more here). The story is based on a statement from an official in the Iraqi Interior Ministry.

Discussion: The Newshoggers

Evan Kohlmann / Counterterrorism Blog:
Al-Qaida in Iraq Leader Dead? Don't Count Your Chickens Just Yet...

Discussion: Pajamas Media

Thomas Joscelyn / Weekly Standard:
"More Than Enough Evidence"

Discussion: American Thinker, protein wisdom, Neptunus Lex, The Corner, The Osterley Times, Sister Toldjah, 60 Minutes and Crooks and Liars

Associated Press:
Iraq probes reports of al-Masri's death

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Outside The Beltway

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
AQI Leader Killed?

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Kiko's House

Guardian:
Al-Qaida in Iraq leader believed dead

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, The Strata-Sphere and INSTAPUTZ

New York Times:

Bill on Iraq to Be Delivered 4 Years After Bush's Words — Democratic leaders in Congress are planning a special ceremony on Tuesday afternoon to send President Bush a bill that sets timetables for troop withdrawal from Iraq. — The timing is no accident.

Discussion: The Mahablog, Taylor Marsh, The Impolitic, Captain's Quarters, Wake up America, AMERICAblog, Neptunus Lex, Middle Earth Journal, TIME, rubber hose and State of the Day

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:

Republicans Buck Bush On Iraq Benchmarks — Brushing aside White House opposition, Republican leaders in Congress said yesterday that negotiations on a second war spending bill should begin with benchmarks of success for the Iraqi government, and possible consequences if those benchmarks are not met.

Discussion: First Read, Pandagon, Daily Kos, Connecting.the.Dots, The Democratic Daily, DownWithTyranny! and Think Progress

S.A. Miller / Washington Times:
Democrats conceding on war bill

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Don Surber

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Justice Dept. Official Says His Role in Firings Was Limited

Discussion: Firedoglake and The Carpetbagger Report

Jim Rutenberg / The Caucus:

Romney Favors Hubbard Novel — "What's your favorite novel?" is a perennial campaign question, the answer to which presumably gives insight into leadership. — A "Moby-Dick" lover may understand the perils of obsessively chasing of a goal. A fan of "To Kill a Mockingbird" may well focus on racial justice.

Discussion: Reason Magazine, Matthew Yglesias, The Huffington Post, The Carpetbagger Report, Taylor Marsh, First Read, The Corner, TIME: Swampland, Rising Hegemon and Althouse

Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:

McCain Favors a 'League of Democracies' — WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain envisions a "League of Democracies" as part of a more cooperative foreign policy with U.S. allies. — The Arizona senator will call for such an organization to be …

Discussion: Jules Crittenden, All Spin Zone, Captain's Quarters, Matthew Yglesias, Power Line, Right Wing News, Secular Blasphemy, Don Surber, Shakesville and WILLisms.com

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Will Rudy Talk About Iraq?

Discussion: Power Line

Martin Peers / Wall Street Journal:

News Corp. Offers $60 a Share In Unsolicited Bid for Dow Jones — Dow Jones & Co., parent of The Wall Street Journal, said it received an unsolicited $5 billion offer from News Corp. — The publisher said the board and members and trustees of the controlling Bancroft family are evaluating …

Discussion: The Big Picture, BuzzMachine, Valleywag, Romenesko, Media Blog and TigerHawk

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Newspapers Continue Decline, At Least In Print

Discussion: Ed Driscoll.com and Editor and Publisher

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

U.S. Cites 91 Percent Rise In Terrorist Acts in Iraq — The number of terrorism incidents in Iraq — and resulting deaths, injuries and kidnappings — skyrocketed from 2005 to 2006, according to statistics released by U.S. counterterrorism officials yesterday.

Discussion: Think Progress, The Daily Dish, Firedoglake and Sadly, No!

Matthew Sheffield / NewsBusters.org:
News You Won't Hear: Terrorism Is Down Almost Everywhere

Discussion: Power Line, Associated Press, Early Warning and On Deadline

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

War as reality rather than cartoon — Almost from the start of the Israeli war in Lebanon, Israelis were aggressively critical of their government's prosecution of the war. While most (though by no means all) Israelis were originally supportive of the decision to commence the war …

Discussion: mfa.gov.il, Haaretz, Guardian and Taylor Marsh

New York Times:
Olmert Rebuked by Israeli Panel on Lebanon War

Discussion: TPMCafe blogs, The Osterley Times, AMERICAblog, On Deadline and Matthew Yglesias

Arwa Damon / CNN:

Shadowy Iraq office accused of sectarian agenda … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraq's prime minister has created an entity within his government that U.S. and Iraqi military officials say is being used as a smokescreen to hide an extreme Shiite agenda that is worsening the country's sectarian divide.

Discussion: Comments From Left Field

Washington Post:

Pet Deaths Spur Call for Better FDA Screening — Imports Raise Concern About Human Foods — Amid growing revelations that suppliers in China frequently spike pet food and other food ingredients with contaminants to boost profits, momentum is building in Washington to bolster the Food …

Discussion: Ezra Klein

Washington Post:

April Toll Is Highest Of '07 for U.S. Troops — Over 100 Killed in Month; Iraqi Deaths Far Higher — The deaths of more than 100 American troops in April made it the deadliest month so far this year for U.S. forces in Iraq, underscoring the growing exposure of Americans as thousands …

Discussion: New York Times, In From the Cold, Debsweb, Taylor Marsh and The Heretik

Think Progress:

'Mission Accomplished' By The Numbers … U.S. Troops Wounded … U.S. Troops Killed … Contractors Killed … Journalists and Media Assistants Killed … U.S. Forces in Iraq … Size of Iraqi Security Forces … Number of Insurgents … Insurgent Attacks Per Day … Cost to U.S. Taxpayers

Discussion: WSJ.com, Firedoglake, On Deadline and The Heretik

Washington Post:

So Sorry About the Names, Alleged Madam Says — Palfrey Hopes Release Will Flush Out Defense Witnesses — The alleged D.C. madam is in desperate need of defense witnesses. — Deborah Jeane Palfrey told reporters that she is "genuinely sorry" if people are hurt when identified as clients …

Discussion: Redstate, Lean Left, TalkLeft and Althouse