memeorandum: Prenatal Test Puts Down Syndrome in Hard Focus (Amy Harmon/New York Times)

4:07 AM ET, May 10, 2007

Top Items:

NBC: 11 Republicans Berate Bush Over Iraq In Private White House Meeting — In a sign of the growing fissure between the White House and its congressional allies over the war, NBC News reports tonight that 11 Republican members of Congress pleaded yesterday with President Bush and his senior aides to change course in Iraq.

Discussion: Politico.com, Balloon Juice, Booman Tribune, DownWithTyranny!, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos and Comments From Left Field

New York Times:

G.O.P. Moderates Warn Bush Iraq Must Show Gains — Moderate Republicans gave President Bush a blunt warning on his Iraq policy at a private White House meeting this week, telling the president that conditions needed to improve markedly by fall or more Republicans would desert him on the war.

Discussion: Hot Air, CQPolitics.com, TalkLeft, CorrenteWire, NO QUARTER and Wizbang

John Aravosis / AMERICAblog:

BREAKING: Conservative Dems expected to vote with GOP to give Bush unfettered blank check on Iraq tomorrow — It's time to replace some conservative Democrats in Washington, DC. I just heard from an impeccable source that there is serious concern on the Hill that conservative Democrats …

Discussion: TalkLeft, MyDD and Riehl World View

NYT > National:

Giuliani Plans to Publicly Embrace Abortion Rights — After months of conflicting signals on abortion, Rudolph W. Giuliani is planning to offer a forthright affirmation of his support for abortion rights in public forums, television appearances and interviews in the coming days …

Discussion: Hot Air, Riehl World View, Washington Monthly and TalkLeft

ABCNEWS:

Romney's Wife Gave Money to Planned Parenthood — Republican Abortion Opponent Accused of Shifting His Views — Former Gov. Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, gave an $150 donation to the abortion-rights group Planned Parenthood in 1994, at a time when Romney considered himself effectively "pro-choice," the Romney campaign confirmed today.

Discussion: GOPProgress.com, Shakesville, Riehl World View, TIME and Balloon Juice

David Bowermaster / Seattle Times:

Charges may result from firings, say two former U.S. attorneys — Two former U.S. attorneys said today they believe ongoing investigations into the dismissals last year of eight federal prosecutors could result in criminal charges against senior Justice Department officials.

Discussion: The Next Hurrah, TPMmuckraker, Daily Kos and Middle Earth Journal

New York Times:

Editorial: U.S. Attorneys, Reloaded — As the United States attorney scandal grows, so does the number of prosecutors who seem to have been pushed out for partisan political reasons. Another highly suspicious case has emerged in the appointment of Bradley Schlozman, a controversial elections lawyer …

Discussion: Washington Post and TalkLeft

Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Missouri Prosecutor Says He Was Pushed to Resign

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, The Anonymous Liberal and Talking Points Memo

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

All you need to know about the Beltway journalist mind — Radar Online has a new profile of presidential candidate Mike Gravel. The article recounts what happened when the reporter, Jebediah Reed, basically followed Gravel as he was profiled by The Today Show.

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Jebediah Reed / RADAR:

RUNNING WILD WITH MIKE GRAVEL — A long-shot candidate has his media moment — DEBATE AND SWITCH Presidential aspirant Mike Gravel in South Carolina — hat's him!" says a Today show producer. All eyes focus on an old-fashioned Checker cab coming up Broadway, an odd relic in the teeming New York City traffic.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:

BILL RICHARDSON....Call me crazy, but am I the only one who thinks that these new ads from Bill Richardson are wildly, bizarrely, wrong? Sure, they're funny, and I know they're aimed at those crazy hipsters who watch YouTube, not the old fogies who watch CNN, but still: isn't Richardson's whole problem …

Discussion: The Democratic Daily and The Gun Toting Liberal™

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Richardson Interviews for the Job

Discussion: Ezra Klein

Patrick Wintour / Guardian:

Today, the beginning of the end — Tony Blair speaks during a visit to University College Hospital in London. Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/Picture montage by Roger Tooth — Tony Blair will today return to Durham's Trimdon Labour Club, and the room where he launched his Labour leadership campaign …

Discussion: AMERICAblog

Guardian:
Two found guilty over Bush-Blair memo leak

Discussion: Shakesville, The Agonist and The Newshoggers

Robert H. Reid / Associated Press:

US Embassy: wear flak jackets, helmets — BAGHDAD - The U.S. Embassy has ordered its staff to wear flak jackets and helmets while outdoors or in unprotected buildings following an increase in mortar and rocket attacks against the heavily protected Green Zone.

Discussion: Unqualified Offerings, TAPPED, The Reaction and The Newshoggers

Fox News:

U.S. … FORT DIX, N.J. — The three brothers being charged as part of the alleged Fort Dix terror plot may have been smuggled across the southern border, FOX News has learned. — Dritan "Anthony" or "Tony" Duka, 28; Shain Duka, 26; and Eljvir "Elvis" Duka, 23, were in the United States illegally.

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM), PoliPundit.com, Debbie Schlussel, Michelle Malkin and NewsBusters.org

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Senate Votes to Give F.D.A. Sweeping New Powers — By a vote of 93 to 1, the Senate passed a bill this afternoon that gives the Food and Drug Administration sweeping new power to police drug safety, order changes in drug labels, and restrict the use and distribution of medicines found to pose serious risks to consumers.

Discussion: The Democratic Daily, On Deadline and Balloon Juice