memeorandum: Female Shark Reproduced Without Male DNA, Scientists Say (Henry Fountain/New York Times)

11:05 AM ET, May 23, 2007

Top Items:

Democrats Pull Troop Deadline From Iraq Bill — Congressional Democrats relented Tuesday on their insistence that a war spending measure set a date for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq. Instead, they moved toward a deal with President Bush that would impose new conditions on the Iraqi government.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Slate, TIME: Swampland, Taylor Marsh, Ice Station Tango, Chicago Tribune, BAGnewsNotes and rubber hose

Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:

Democrats Relent On Pullout Timetable — Democrats gave up their demand for troop-withdrawal deadlines in an Iraq war spending package yesterday, abandoning their top goal of bringing U.S. troops home and handing President Bush a victory in a debate that has roiled Congress for months.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Informed Comment, AMERICAblog, All Spin Zone, Daily Kos, The Reaction, Guardian, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Atlantic Online, Jules Crittenden, The Heretik, On Deadline, Salon, CNN, About U.S. Politics and Crooks and Liars

Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
Defections now likely on Iraq bill

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and Los Angeles Times

CNN:

Justice aide who took the Fifth to testify in attorney firings … (CNN) — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' former link to the White House will testify on Capitol Hill Wednesday, speaking out for the first time on her role in the controversial U.S. Attorney firings.

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM) and TalkLeft

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:

Today's Must Read — An ideologue, yes, but an ideologue acting on orders or on her own? — When Monica Goodling goes before the House Judiciary Committee this morning, that will be the central question. — No one can read the two profiles of Goodling in The Los Angeles Times …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, NO QUARTER and Eschaton

Looseheadprop / Firedoglake:

Older and Wiser Heads — Last night I sat in the stately ceremonial courtroom in the United States Courthouse for the Southern District of New York. In the room were lawyers from some of the most powerful law firms in the country. There were current and former "career" DOJ employees, there were former political appointees.

Former Gonzales Aide / Washington Post:

Officials Describe Interference by Former Gonzales Aide — When Jeffrey A. Taylor, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, wanted to hire a new career prosecutor last fall, he had to run the idea past Monica M. Goodling, then a 33-year-old aide to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

Discussion: Law Blog and Think Progress

The Blotter:

Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran — Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report: — The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Well, This Takes All The Fun Out Of It — ABC News has revealed …

Discussion: The Newshoggers

Alan Cooperman / Washington Post:

Survey: U.S. Muslims Assimilated, Opposed to Extremism — Unlike Muslim minorities in many European countries, U.S. Muslims are highly assimilated, close to parity with other Americans in income and overwhelmingly opposed to Islamic extremism, according to the first major, nationwide random survey of Muslims.

Discussion: USA Today, Guardian, Unqualified Offerings, Jihad Watch, Salon and PewResearch.org

Ace / minx.cc:
A Day of Shocks: Media Spins or Ignores Disturbing Finding …

Discussion: Salon, Voice of America, International Herald Tribune, National Review, Captain's Quarters and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Mark Steyn / National Review: "Potentially disenfranchised youth"

Washington Post:

McCain Turns Focus To His Fundraising — As the Senate debate over immigration raged yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had breakfast, brunch and lunch fundraisers in Houston before heading north to gather money at a supporter's home in Dallas and, later, from young professionals at a gourmet Mexican restaurant.

Discussion: The Politico and The Caucus

Michael Cooper / New York Times:

Political Memo: Giuliani Above the Fray as McCain and Romney Skirmish — The contrast could hardly be more striking. Senator John McCain and Mitt Romney have been mixing it up on the trail with increasing intensity ever since their feisty exchange at the last Republican debate.

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, TIME and Michael P.F. van der Galiën

New York Times:

Senate Votes to Keep Temporary Worker Program — A comprehensive immigration bill survived a significant test on Tuesday as the Senate voted to keep a provision that would let hundreds of thousands of temporary foreign workers enter the country each year. — If the guest worker program …

Discussion: Washington Post, Campaign for America's …, JURIST and Hot Air

Elana Schor / The Hill:

Guest-worker program dodges its first bullet — The guest-worker program in the new immigration bill survived its first test late yesterday but remains under siege. — The debate pits resurgent Democratic populists against negotiators determined to hold together the tenuous immigration reform deal.

Discussion: Heading Right and Captain's Quarters

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:

Bush: Bin Laden ordered non-Iraq attacks — WASHINGTON - Seeking to rally support for the war, President Bush released intelligence asserting that Osama bin Laden in 2005 ordered creation of a terrorist unit to hit targets outside Iraq, including the United States.

Discussion: MSNBC, The Impolitic, Sadly, No!, AMERICAblog, Brilliant at Breakfast, Republic of Sestakastan and Rising Hegemon

Ed Henry / CNN:
White House: Bin Laden wanted Iraq as a new base

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Reaction and AMERICAN DIGEST

Michael Brady / Keeping the Majority Accountable …:

Freshmen fail first ethics test — Despite last week's media blitz promoting tougher ethics enforcement, a group of freshmen Congressmen failed their first practical test Tuesday night, when they refused to reprimand one of their colleagues for an apparent ethics violation.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill and Captain's Quarters

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
DEMOCRATS FIND ETHICS OVERHAUL ELUSIVE IN HOUSE

Discussion: Wonkette, Associated Press and Sirotablog

Associated Press:

Iraqis in Hunt for Missing GIs Find Body in U.S. Uniform — BAGHDAD — Iraqi police found the body of a man who was wearing what appeared to be a U.S. military uniform and floating in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad on Wednesday morning. One Iraqi official said the body was that of an American soldier.

Discussion: Jules Crittenden and Pajamas Media

CNN:
U.S. checking if body found in river is missing soldier

Discussion: Associated Press and Hot Air

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Rangel and Levin defend trade deal against caucus criticism — Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) yesterday defended their deal on trade policy from fellow Democrats' criticisms during a weekly caucus meeting on trade.

Mark Drajem / Bloomberg:
Rangel Faces Hostile Reaction From Some Democrats on Trade Deal

Discussion: Reuters and Sirotablog

Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post:

New Strategy for War Stresses Iraqi Politics — U.S. Aims to Oust Sectarians From Key Roles — Top U.S. commanders and diplomats in Iraq are completing a far-reaching campaign plan for a new U.S. strategy, laying out military and political goals and endorsing the selective removal …

Discussion: QandO, Sic Semper Tyrannis 2007, The Strata-Sphere, Daily Kos, Democratic Underground …, Middle Earth Journal, The Impolitic, Outside The Beltway and Oliver Willis

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Fred Thompson Inks Another GOP Insider — Fred Thompson has inked former Federal Elections Commission Chairman Michael Toner to serve as the lead lawyer for his increasingly likely campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. — Toner is the second major Thompson hire to become public in recent days.

Discussion: MSNBC, Tennessee Politics Blog, The Right's Field, National Review and Left in the West

Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
Many Signs Point to Thompson Candidacy

Discussion: Boston Globe

Joe Strupp / Editor and Publisher:

McClatchy's D.C. Bureau Claims It's Barred From Defense Secretary Plane — NEW YORK Staffers at McClatchy's Washington, D.C., Bureau — one of the few major news outlets skeptical of intelligence reports during the run-up to the war in Iraq — claims it is now being punished for that coverage.

Discussion: mediabistro.com