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Ravi Nessman / Associated Press:
Car bombings kill 23 at Baghdad bridges — BAGHDAD - Twin suicide car bombers struck police checkpoints at bridges in a predominantly Shiite area of Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 23 people just hours after a series of U.S. raids on car bomb networks around the capital killed four suspected insurgents.
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CNN:
3 U.S. soldiers missing, 5 killed in attack … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Four American troops and one Iraqi army interpreter have been killed and three American troops are missing after an attack on Saturday morning 12 miles west of Mahmoudiya — a city south of the capital in Babil province, the U.S. military said.
Discussion:
Angry Bear
Los Angeles Times:
General says he needs more troops — U.S. commander for northern Iraq cites the growing violence in Diyala province. — BAGHDAD — The commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq said Friday that he did not have enough troops to deal with the escalating violence in Iraq's Diyala province …
Greg Lukianoff / FIRE:
Factual Statements=Unprotected Harassment!? A Terrifying Precedent at Tufts — Today, FIRE announced the decision by a disciplinary panel at Tufts to find the conservative student newspaper, The Primary Source, guilty of "harassment" for, among other things, publishing a satirical ad …
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Associated Press:
Ex-U.S. Attorney Questions Own Firing — Former W.Va. Prosecutor Says He Has 'Concerns' About Firing By Bush Administration — (AP) A former West Virginia federal prosecutor said Friday the White House fired him in 2005 in the middle of a corruption and vote-buying investigation but never told him why.
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Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Colleagues Cite Partisan Focus by Justice Official — Two years ago, Robin C. Ashton, a seasoned criminal prosecutor at the Department of Justice, learned from her boss that a promised promotion was no longer hers. — "You have a Monica problem," Ms. Ashton was told, according to several Justice Department officials.
New York Times:
Giuliani Takes On G.O.P. Orthodoxy on Social Issues — Rudolph W. Giuliani directly challenged Republican orthodoxy on Friday, asserting that his support for abortion rights, gun control and gay rights should not disqualify him from winning the party's presidential nomination.
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David Smith / Times of London:
Pakistan set to declare state of emergency — President Musharraf could declare a state of emergency in Pakistan amid growing civil unrest against his increasingly embattled regime. — Security forces were placed on high alert yesterday, detaining hundreds of activists on the eve of an anti-government rally in Karachi.
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James Glanz / New York Times:
Billions in Oil Missing in Iraq, U.S. Study Says — Between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels a day of Iraq's declared oil production over the past four years is unaccounted for and could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling, according to a draft American government report.
Discussion:
Informed Comment, NO QUARTER, TalkLeft, KnoxViews, Prairie Weather, Booman Tribune and JammieWearingFool
Brian / TVNewser:
CNN International Chyron: "Bush Resigns" — Following up on this post, it did happen. Here's a screen grab from CNN International around midnight ET: — This appeared on screen for 12 seconds. (Two seconds before, President Bush had appeared on screen, but the chyron accurately said "Pressure over Iraq.")
Bob Geiger:
The Saturday Cartoons — It's a big day for our Saturday cartoons as I just found out that our friend Walt Handelsman of Newsday has been awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. Walt, who also won the prestigious award in 1997 while with the Times-Picayune in New Orleans …
Discussion:
Firedoglake
ABCNEWS:
Lobbying Reform Losing Steam in House — Lobbying Reform Losing Momentum in Congress After Democrats Touted It for 2006 Election — House Democrats are suddenly balking at the tough lobbying reforms they touted to voters last fall as a reason for putting them in charge of Congress.
Associated Press:
Zimbabwe to head U.N. body over U.S. objection … UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Zimbabwe won approval on Friday to head a key U.N. body charged with promoting economic progress and environmental protection despite protests from the U.S., European nations and human rights organizations.
Marty Lederman / Balkinization:
General Petraeus on Torture and "Other Expedient Methods" — This is a remarkable, powerful letter. (Text below.) Imagine, if you can, how different the world might look if such a letter had been promulgated throughout the military by someone of such stature at the beginning of 2003.
Discussion:
Unqualified Offerings
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Andrew Sullivan / The Atlantic Online:
Petraeus Comes Through
Petraeus Comes Through
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Kiko's House, Washington Post, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and The Newshoggers
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Congress Gets Warning On Budget — The White House threatened yesterday to use the president's veto to prevent Democrats from increasing spending on education, health care and other domestic programs. — In a letter to lawmakers, the president's budget director, Rob Portman …