Administration Withheld E-Mails About Rove  —  The Bush administration has withheld a series of e-mails from Congress showing that senior White House and Justice Department officials worked together to conceal the role of Karl Rove in installing Timothy Griffin, a protégé of Rove's …

Giuliani Snubs Jones County  —  OLIN-Last weekend Deb and Jerry VonSprecken of Olin received a call from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's campaign office asking them if they would be interested in holding a campaign rally on May 4, after she had donated to his campaign.

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.

Bush Says He's Open to Benchmarks in Iraq Bill  —  President Bush said today that he was willing to work with lawmakers to include benchmarks for the performance of the Iraqi government in a war spending bill, something members of both parties have been vigorously seeking.

House likely to pass Iraq bill Thursday  —  WASHINGTON - The White House acknowledged public frustration with the Iraq war but tried to play down Republican anxieties Thursday as the House prepared to pass legislation that could cut off funding for U.S. troops as early as July.

Hamas TV refuses to axe contested kids cartoon  —  RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Hamas-run television channel has defied a Palestinian government request to axe a controversial children's cartoon in which a Mickey Mouse look-alike urges resistance against Israel.

Pentagon Breaks Pledge To Troops, Sends Them Back To Iraq After Just Nine Months At Home  —  On April 11, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that tours of duty for the Army would be extended from 12 months to 15 months, effective immediately.  In exchange for the extensions …

Answers for Joe Klein  —  In response to this post from last night, Time's Joe Klein asks: … It ought to go without saying that I argued nothing of the kind.  My point was that Beltway pundits are far too insulated and detached from the people whom they baselessly claim to represent, not that leaving the Beltway is bad.

A Baghdad plea: U.S. should stay and fight  —  Be Our Guest  —  I wasn't surprised when I saw Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, appear on Al Jazeera to announce America's defeat last week, not long after U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did.

Straw, Meet Camel  —  THUS WE SEE JOHN MCCAIN RISE FURTHER IN THE POLLS  —  "Though the care and management of five bright and typical boys was the primary focus of Ann Romney's life, she was always deeply involved in her husband's business and political career and in the public life …

OxyContin: The Giuliani Connection  —  Brian Ross, Richard Esposito & R. Schwartz Report:  —  Rudolph Giuliani and his consulting company, Giuliani Partners, have served as key advisors for the last five years to the pharmaceutical company that pled guilty today to charges it misled doctors …

Free Speech Fracas: Joke Describes Violent Sex Assault of Condoleezza Rice  —  Warning: Extremely Vulgar Language.  XM Shock Jocks Opie and Anthony engage in discussion about forced sex with the Secretary of State.  A studio guest, Homeless Charlie, begins describing the scenario as the hosts laugh and encourage him.

Kansas Tornado Survivors Slam Governor Sebelius  —  UPDATE BELOW: Report- The governor admits to politicizing the tornado(?) … -Greensburg Resident Mike Swigart told WCBSTV.com  —  Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius (C) talks with Greensburg residents Darrin Headrick (L) and Dennis McKinney in Greensberg, Kansas, May 6, 2007.

WHAT'S NEWS?  —  Yesterday, Scott wrote about the Appeal for Courage which was presented to Congress yesterday afternoon.  You can read about the Appeal here.  The Appeal was signed by more than 2,700 active duty servicemen and women.  It says: … The Appeal was received yesterday …

The Sheer Stupidity of Newspapers These Days  —  The Silicon Insider Looks at Mainstream Media's Follies  —  The most heated topic in the blogosphere this week was the announcement by James Lileks, one of the world's most popular bloggers, that his longtime employer, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune …