Vice President Exempts His Office from the Requirements for Protecting Classified Information  —  The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, Vice President Cheney exempted his office from the presidential order that establishes government-wide procedures …

Nader ponders run, calls Clinton 'coward'  —  Ralph Nader says he is seriously considering running for president in 2008 because he foresees another Tweedledum-Tweedledee election that offers little real choice to voters.  —  "You know the two parties are still converging …

Turning on al-Qaeda in Baquba  —  I helicoptered today into Baquba, the centerpiece of the current U.S. offensive in Iraq, with Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno —and then drove via Stryker brigade into the center of the fight for a briefing.  It was midday, and the sun was so hot that both sides in the battle seemed to be taking a siesta.

Irshad Manji: Islam the problem  —  GROWING up in Vancouver, I attended an Islamic school every Saturday.  There, I learned that Jews can't be trusted because they worship "moolah, not Allah", meaning money, not God.  According to my teacher, every last Jew is consumed with business.

List of journalists taking sides  —  And their explanations, from 'Yikes!' to 'They're all in somebody's pocket'  —  Have you captured a candidate on camera?  We want to see it.  Click here to send us your pictures and videos, and we'll post the best on MSNBC.com.

A new carbon standard  —  Taxes on CO2 emissions alone won't get us where we need to go.  —  PROMINENT VOICES are calling for national carbon taxes as a way to fight global warming.  Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, the Los Angeles Times' editorial board and economists …

Immigration Vote Count  —  Opponents of the immigration bill recognize that the vote on cloture (maybe tomorrow, but probably early next week) will be key.  Outside groups are scoring a vote for cloture as a vote for the bill.  Cloture will succeed with 60 votes.

Press Briefing by Tony Snow  —  White House Conference Center Briefing Room  —  MR. SNOW: Just getting organized.  Hello.  Questions.  —  Q Tony, does the executive order allow researchers to do anything they couldn't do under current guidelines?  —  MR. SNOW: Well, what it does …

Justice Dept.'s No. 2 to Counter Claims of Untruths Over Firings  —  McNulty Also to Tell Panel He Doesn't Think Officials Misled Him  —  Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty today will defend his past statements about the firings of U.S. attorneys, rebutting allegations …

Court rules on Sentencing Guidelines  —  The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a federal criminal sentence within the Guidelines may be presumed to be reasonable when the case is on appeal.  However, it said that such a presumption is not binding.. Although the Court was divided in some respects …

Lincoln's Example for Iraq  —  In his only term in Congress, Abraham Lincoln was an ardent opponent of the Mexican War.  He introduced a series of resolutions that challenged President James Polk to show the "spot" of American soil on which Mexicans had spilled American blood …

Rep. Pelosi responds to boos on war  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) yesterday reaffirmed her commitment to end the war in Iraq, but her words were greeted with skepticism and some boos by anti-war liberal activists.  —  Addressing the liberal pressure group Campaign for America's Future …

Imperial presidency declared null and void  —  Bush may ignore the 4th Circuit's stinging rebuke of his war paradigm.  But his policies are losing the cloak of legality.  —  Jack Bauer of "24" questions Fayed in the episode "Day 6: 10:00 P.M. - 11:00 P.M."

Americans' Confidence in Congress at All-Time Low  —  Confidence in most institutions drops  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The percentage of Americans with a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress is at 14%, the lowest in Gallup's history of this measure — and the lowest …

In Speech Omitting Iraq, Romney Claims 'Reality' Is A 'Source Of Fear' For 'Liberals'  —  Former governor Mitt Romney is delivering a speech today at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. whose ideas form the root of the Bush administration's right-wing ideology.

Missing Soldier's Wife Faces Deportation  —  As Military Searches For Kidnapped Soldier In Iraq, U.S. Threatens To Send Wife Back To Dominican Republic  —  (CBS/AP) While the U.S. military searches for a soldier missing in Iraq, kidnapped by insurgents possibly allied with al Qaeda …

14 U.S. troops killed in Iraq in 48 hours … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Fourteen U.S. troops have been killed in attacks over the past two days in Iraq — 12 soldiers and two Marines — according to the U.S. military.  —  In the deadliest attack, a roadside bomb struck a military vehicle …

Rival camps take aim at Romney's religion  —  Gathering for their April meeting at the county courthouse, Republican activists from Warren County, Iowa, planned for this summer's county fair and vented about illegal immigration.  —  And then the county chairman for Senator John McCain's …