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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

'I assume Cheney will get a Katrina trailer,' Republican mocks  —  A group of Democrats made their case Thursday afternoon to cut all funding for the executive branch office of Vice President Dick Cheney on the floor of the House of Representatives.  The move prompted a Republican Congressman …

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.

The Senator Is No Gambler  —  A number of Senate sources explain how Senator Brownback appears to have voted today. "when the roll was first called, and he calmly called out 'aye,' from his seat.  Near the end, however, he walked down into the well and as they called out his name again he voted 'no.'"

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 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.