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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.")

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.

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 …

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.