Top Items:
Dan Browning / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Bridge was rated 'structurally deficient' in 2005 — The highway bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River on Wednesday was rated as "structurally deficient" two years ago and possibly in need of replacement. — The highway bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River on Wednesday was rated as …
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Minneapolis Star Tribune:
I-35W bridge collapses — The Interstate Hwy. 35W bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed during the evening rush hour Wednesday, dumping at least eight cars and a truck into the water and onto the land below, creating a horrific scene of damage, fire, smoke, injuries, frantic rescuers and terrified motorists.
Discussion:
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Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Was The Bridge Deficient? — Normally, in the wake of a catastrophe …
Was The Bridge Deficient? — Normally, in the wake of a catastrophe …
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard
Pat Doyle / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Cracking, vibration may have contributed to collapse, former NTSB official says
Cracking, vibration may have contributed to collapse, former NTSB official says
Discussion:
The Glittering Eye
TwinCities.com:
Inspections, reports raise questions about bridge's safety
Inspections, reports raise questions about bridge's safety
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
James Lileks / buzz.mn:
Reaction: The 35W Bridge Disaster
Reaction: The 35W Bridge Disaster
Discussion:
KCCW-TV, Classical Values, Associated Press, Bookworm Room, One Hand Clapping, Betsy's Page, Outside The Beltway and Ed Driscoll.com
CNN:
Gonzales: 'I may have created confusion' — WASHINGTON (CNN) — With potential perjury accusations hanging over him, embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales sent a letter to Senate leaders Wednesday acknowledging he "may have created confusion" in his previous testimony.
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Greg Miller / Los Angeles Times:
Court puts limits on surveillance abroad — The ruling raises concerns that U.S. anti-terrorism efforts might be impaired at a time of heightened risk. — WASHINGTON — A special court that has routinely approved eavesdropping operations has put new restrictions on the ability …
Newsweek:
Judge's ruling spurs scramble for spy powers — A federal judge's secret ruling restricting the intelligence community's surveillance powers helped spur a Capitol Hill bid to grant Bush new authority. — A secret ruling by a federal judge has restricted the U.S. intelligence community's surveillance …
Discussion:
Balkinization
Peter Brookes / New York Post:
BARACK'S BLUNDER — INVADE A NUCLEAR POWER? — IN an "I am too tougher than Hillary" speech, Sen. Barack Obama warned Pakistan yes terday that as commander-in-chief he might act unilaterally if Islamabad didn't do more against the terrorists there. — "Let me make this clear …
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Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Obama Says He Would Take Fight To Pakistan
Obama Says He Would Take Fight To Pakistan
Discussion:
New York Times, Quad City Times, New York Post, Associated Press, Eduwonk.com, TIME, The Atlantic Online, Althouse, The Heretik and NION
Robert Pear / New York Times:
House Passes Children's Health Plan 225-204 — Over angry Republican objections, the House on Wednesday passed a sweeping expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program, financed with increases in tobacco taxes and cuts in subsidies to private Medicare insurance plans for older Americans.
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Melanie Markley / Houston Chronicle:
Students must remember 'God' in Texas pledge — Texas students will have four more words to remember when they head back to class this month and begin reciting the state's pledge of allegiance. — This year's Legislature added the phrase "one state under God" to the pledge …
Michael Wines / New York Times:
Caps on Prices Only Deepen Zimbabweans' Misery — The government of Zimbabwe tried to allay the effects of inflation by setting prices, but as a result, basic goods cost too much to produce, leaving shelves empty. Instead, families are relying on melons and what little meat can be shared.
Discussion:
Publius Pundit, Outside The Beltway, QandO, PrairiePundit, CARPE DIEM and THE CUNNING REALIST
Russ Buettner / New York Times:
In Fox News, Giuliani Finds a Friendly Stage — Roger Ailes and Rudolph W. Giuliani have been pulling for each other for nearly two decades. — Mr. Ailes was the media consultant to Mr. Giuliani's first mayoral campaign in 1989. Mr. Giuliani, as mayor, officiated at Mr. Ailes's wedding …
Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:
Thompson's Top Adviser — Speaking at his $1,000-a-ticket fundraiser at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in downtown Washington on Monday night, Fred Thompson began by introducing "my campaign manager — oh, I mean my wife." That little joke about Jeri Thompson reveals how the prospective Republican …
John Harwood / Wall Street Journal:
America's Economic Mood: Gloomy — Broad Public Pessimism — Spurs Democratic Candidates — To Target Business Interests — WASHINGTON — Americans are feeling decidedly sour about the economy and those in charge of it, fueling Democratic efforts to target business interests in the 2008 election campaign.
Editor and Publisher:
Bush Insults BBC Political Editor at Press Conference — NEW YORK At a recent press conference at Camp David, President George Bush insulted BBC political editor Nick Robinson, the Daily Mirror reports. — Robinson, who has asked Bush pointed questions in the past such as whetherthe president was …
Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
Iraq Snapshots Give 2 Views — July ended with a monthly death toll for American troops in Iraq that was the lowest this year. Then August dawned with car bombs in Baghdad that killed scores of Iraqis. — In war, good news and bad news often coexist. But in Iraq, where battle lines are murky …
Editor and Publisher:
170 Cancel 'WSJ' Subscriptions — But How Many Will Follow? — NEW YORK At least 170 subscribers to the Wall Street Journal have canceled their orders since word emerged that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. will soon take over the newspaper. — The paper does have 1.7 million print subscribers left.
John D. Dingell / Washington Post:
The Power in the Carbon Tax — Successful laws to protect the environment are built on simple concepts. They discourage harmful behavior — the dumping of sewage or industrial waste into bodies of water, the destruction of habitat, the emission of toxic chemicals — by a variety of measures …