Top Items:
Guardian:
Blair quits as prime minister — Matthew Tempest and agencies — Tony Blair today announced he was stepping down after 10 years as prime minister and 13 as Labour leader. — The prime minister told a crowd of supporters in Trimdon Labour club he would stand down as PM on June 27.
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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
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.
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Washington Post:
Bush Told War Is Harming The GOP — House Republican moderates, in a remarkably blunt White House meeting, warned President Bush this week that his pursuit of the war in Iraq is risking the future of the Republican Party and that he cannot count on GOP support for many more months.
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, Booman Tribune, The Strata-Sphere, Gateway Pundit, CorrenteWire, Wizbang, Riehl World View, MyDD and JammieWearingFool
Nico / Think Progress:
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.
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
War Support Starting To Crumble — The lack of energy from the Iraqi government of Nouri al-Maliki has added what might be a final straw to Republican discontent about the progress of the war. A delegation of Congressional Republicans met with President Bush last night at the White House …
Washington Post:
Number of Fired Prosecutors Grows — Dismissals Began Earlier Than Justice Dept. Has Said — The former U.S. attorney in Kansas City, Mo., Todd P. Graves, said yesterday that he was asked to step down from his job by a senior Justice Department official in January 2006 …
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New York Times:
Gonzales Seems Confident He Will Stay, Officials Say — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales appears increasingly confident that he will survive the crisis over the dismissal of federal prosecutors, as White House aides who view him as a liability see little point in trying to persuade President Bush …
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 …
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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.
CNN:
Romney: Sharpton remark bigoted … NEW YORK (CNN) — Civil rights activist Al Sharpton, who led the charge to have radio host Don Imus fired for making racially insensitive remarks, is now under fire for a comment about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's Mormon faith.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, Atlantic Free Press, Bloodthirsty Liberal, Gateway Pundit and Jules Crittenden
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Bill Roggio / The Fourth Rail:
The Diyala Salvation Front — Tribal leaders in the troubled province organize against al Qaeda — Map of southern Diyala. Click map to view. — In March, we noted the successful model of the Anbar Salvation Council will very likely be replicated elsewhere in regions where al Qaeda has established bases of operation.
Edward Epstein / San Francisco Chronicle:
GOP keeps the heat turned up on Pelosi — Speaker's foes likely to sling mud until something sticks — (05-10) 04:00 PDT Washington — Firebrand Republicans would have you believe that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might have engaged in corruption for her husband, tried to grab a luxury …
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah
Wayne Barrett / Village Voice:
The Yankees' Clean-Up Man — Rudy went to bat for the Yanks, and look what he scored. — The greatest love affair of Rudy Giuliani's life has become a sordid scandal. — His monogamous embrace of the Yankees as mayor was so fervent that when he tried to deliver a West Side stadium …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
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