Court strikes down school integration plans, ends Term  —  UPDATED to 11 a.m.  —  Concluding its current Term with a historic ruling on race in public policy, the Supreme Court divided 5-4 on Thursday in striking down voluntary integration plans in the public schools of Seattle and Louisville.

The imperial vice presidency  —  New details about his secret mission to expand the power of the president show that Cheney, at the end of his career, refuses to loosen his grip.  —  Vice President Cheney speaks about the war in Iraq on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, April 24, 2007.

Bush won't supply subpoenaed documents  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush, moving toward a constitutional showdown with Congress, asserted executive privilege Thursday and rejected lawmakers' demands for documents that could shed light on the firings of federal prosecutors.

Illegals bill loses support in Senate  —  The Senate immigration bill lost supporters yesterday and hangs on by a thread heading into this morning's showdown vote, after lawmakers voted down amendments making illegal aliens show roots to get legal status and cutting off their path to citizenship.

Costs Skyrocket As DHS Runs Up No-Bid Contracts  —  $2 Million Security Project Balloons to $124 Million  —  The project started in 2003 with a $2 million contract to help the new Department of Homeland Security quickly get an intelligence operation up and running.

House members seek $4,400 pay raise  —  WASHINGTON - Despite low approval ratings and hard feelings from last year's elections, Democrats and Republicans in the House are reaching out for an approximately $4,400 pay raise that would increase their salaries to almost $170,000.

'Black vote split' between Clinton, Obama  —  Though all Democratic candidates at tonight's debate will be looking for a share of the black vote, the spotlight is on the two favorites: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.  —  rhutcheson@mcclatchydc.com  —  WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidates …

An iPod Has Global Value.  Ask the (Many) Countries That Make It.  —  Who makes the Apple iPod?  Here's a hint: It is not Apple.  The company outsources the entire manufacture of the device to a number of Asian enterprises, among them Asustek, Inventec Appliances and Foxconn.

How the Mexican Immigration Problem Will Solve Itself  —  As the debate over illegal immigration from Mexico rages in Washington and across the country, and as the administration's reform bill hangs by a thread, few Americans are aware that this problem will automatically decline and eventually become a vague memory.

NBC's David Gregory thinks we just need to "strip away" Ann Coulter's inflammatory rhetoric to listen to her points  —  Not kidding.  According to NBC's David Gregory we're all missing the very important points that Ann Coulter makes because we get caught up in her hate speech.

Immigration Bill Prompts Some Menacing Responses  —  The threat came in the weekend mail.  —  The recipient was Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida, who has been a leading advocate of the proposed legislation for changing the immigration system.  His offices in Washington …

Bush facing GOP mutiny over immigration  —  The bitter fight over a comprehensive immigration overhaul has pushed President Bush and his fellow Republicans to the brink of divorce — and, for the first time, the opportunities for reconciliation appear severely limited.

Bloomberg: Neither party 'stands for anything'  —  NEW YORK — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who became an independent last week, showed his non-partisan colors Wednesday by criticizing both political parties.  —  Bloomberg, who left the GOP and is asked almost daily about running for president …

Immigration Stance Is Costly for McCain  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is not wavering on immigration.  This week, he continued to stand firm with President Bush in seeking a Senate compromise on the issue in the face of intense opposition from core activists in the Republican Party.