Top Items:
Terence Hunt / Associated Press:
White House asserts executive privilege — 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.
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, The Politico, Washington Monthly, TPMmuckraker, Left in the West, Booman Tribune, The Next Hurrah, TalkLeft, Outside The Beltway, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Happy Furry Puppy Story …, Comments From Left Field, Brian Beutler, Daily Kos, D-Day, The Carpetbagger Report, The Heretik, Taylor Marsh and Corrente
RELATED:
William Branigin / Washington Post:
Bush Won't Supply Subpoenaed Documents — The White House said today it would not comply with congressional subpoenas for documents and testimony relating to the firings of federal prosecutors last year, setting up a potential constitutional confrontation over its claim of executive privilege.
Discussion:
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, The Agitator, Wonkette, Think Youth and Shakespeare's Sister
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Bush called out for his earmarks — Democratic and Republican appropriators are accusing President Bush of urging Congress to pack spending bills with pet projects despite his high-profile crackdown on earmarks this year. — A House Appropriations Committee report accompanying legislation funding …
Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
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.
RELATED:
Think Progress:
BREAKING: Supreme Court Strikes Down Public School Desegregation Law — In the "biggest school desegregation ruling in more than a decade," the Supreme Court today ruled 5-4 to reject public school assignment plans "that take account of students' race." The AP reports:
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Associated Press, New York Times, SCOTUSblog, Taylor Marsh and TPMCafe blogs
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Senate Hands Down a Major Defeat on Immigration Bill — The most dramatic overhaul of the nation's immigration laws in a generation was trounced this morning by a bipartisan filibuster, with the political right and left overwhelming a coalition of Republicans and Democrats who had been seeking compromise …
RELATED:
CNN:
Senate vote kills immigration bill again … WASHINGTON (CNN) — Opponents effectively killed President Bush's long-fought and emotion-laden Senate immigration bill Thursday when members voted against advancing the controversial legislation. — The tally was 46 to 53, 14 votes shy of the 60 needed to end debate.
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
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 …
RELATED:
Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:
Immigration Stance Is Costly for McCain
Immigration Stance Is Costly for McCain
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Don Surber, MSNBC, The Caucus, ABCNEWS, Bluey Blog, Blue Crab Boulevard and DownWithTyranny!
Klaus Marre / The Hill:
46-53, immigration bill goes down in defeat — The comprehensive immigration reform bill that has dodged attacks from the left and right for weeks, survived "poison pill" amendments, and was once pulled from the Senate schedule failed its most important test Thursday. Passage of the legislation now appears unlikely.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, The Daily Background, DownWithTyranny!, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Macsmind, 24thstate and BizzyBlog
Joe Sudbay / AMERICAblog:
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.
RELATED:
Sidney Blumenthal / Salon:
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.
RELATED:
White House:
President Bush Disappointed by Congress's Failure to Act on Comprehensive Immigration Reform — THE PRESIDENT: I thank the members of the Senate and members of my administration who worked so hard on the border security and immigration reform bill. I'm sorry the Senate was unable to reach agreement on the bill this morning.
Robert O'Harrow Jr / Washington Post:
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.
Discussion:
Heading Right, Captain's Quarters, The Next Hurrah, Norwegianity, Prairie Weather, On Deadline and Donklephant
Andrew Taylor / Associated Press:
House members seek cost-of-living 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.
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Cloture Call: Live Blog — I'll be watching and reporting on the cloture process this morning, and the opponents of the immigration bill seem to be off to a good start. John Ensign, the chair of the NRSC, has announced that he will vote against cloture to kill the bill.