Top Items:
CNN:
Sources: Craig resignation likely soon — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Several well-placed GOP sources in Washington and Idaho have told CNN that embattled Republican Sen. Larry Craig is likely to resign soon, possibly as early as Friday. — A GOP source with knowledge of the situation told CNN's Dana Bash …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Captain's Quarters, The Moderate Voice, Fox News, Associated Press, Time, Macsmind, New York Times, A Blog For All, Talking Points Memo, TPM Election Central, The Carpetbagger Report, Betsy's Page, michellemalkin.com, PoliBlog (TM), Balloon Juice, The Huffington Post and Power Line
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Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:
Reports: Craig close to resigning
Reports: Craig close to resigning
Discussion:
The Influence Peddler
Kate Phillips / The Caucus:
The Craig Tape — (Photos: Handout, via European Pressphoto Agency)
The Craig Tape — (Photos: Handout, via European Pressphoto Agency)
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Lawmakers Describe 'Being Slimed in the Green Zone' — The sheets of paper seemed to be everywhere the lawmakers went in the Green Zone, distributed to Iraqi officials, U.S. officials and uniformed military of no particular rank. So when Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) …
Yahoo! News:
New Frontburner Issue in Iowa: Same-Sex Marriage — The Nation — Iowa will in all likelihood remain the state that opens the process of nominating the Democratic and Republican candidates for president in 2008. As such, it is a "must visit" and "must impress" state for contenders in both parties.
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David Pitt / Associated Press:
Judge: Same-sex couples can wed in Iowa — DES MOINES, Iowa - A county judge struck down Iowa's decade-old gay marriage ban as unconstitutional Thursday and ordered local officials to process marriage licenses for six gay couples. — Gay couples from anywhere in Iowa could apply …
Discussion:
All Spin Zone
David S. Cloud / New York Times:
Panel Will Urge Broad Overhaul of Iraqi Police — An independent commission established by Congress to assess Iraq's security forces will recommend remaking the 26,000-member national police force to purge it of corrupt officers and Shiite militants suspected of complicity in sectarian killings …
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Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
"WE SHOULD START OVER"....Another draft report has been leaked to the press, this one a detailed look at the Iraqi police force in the wake of 2006's "year of the police": … This is becoming a comedy of the absurd. Scrap the Iraqi police force? Start over from scratch? Is this a joke?
Discussion:
The Newshoggers
Scot J. Paltrow / Wall Street Journal:
Budget Crunch Hits U.S. Attorneys' Offices — Amid Antiterror Focus, — Prosecutions Decline; — Rep. Lewis Probe Slowed — LOS ANGELES — Whoever succeeds Alberto Gonzales as attorney general will face a long list of challenges at the Justice Department, from unfilled senior positions to sagging morale.
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Emma Schwartz / US News:
Justice Department Lawyers Refuse Detainee Cases — Some lawyers in the civil appeals division object to the government's policies on Guantánamo Bay — The government's legal arguments justifying the detention of hundreds of people at the Guantánamo Bay naval base …
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker
Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
Thompson gives back cash — Fred Thompson, facing scrutiny for stockpiling cash while he purported to be only exploring the possibility of a presidential bid, is returning some contributions to supporters. — Thompson, who plans to officially enter the race for the Republican nomination Thursday …
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Kimberley A. Strassel / Opinion Journal:
What Women Want — How the GOP can woo the ladies. — Hillary has herself. Barack has Oprah. John Edwards has his wife, Elizabeth. And what secret weapon do Republican presidential candidates have to curry the all-important "women's vote"? — (Cue silence.)
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Thinking Beyond Maliki — The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has had more than 15 months to try to pacify the Sunni insurgency by offering national accords on oil-sharing, provincial elections and de-Baathification. It has done none of these.
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Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:
Reid Opens Door to Pact With Antiwar Republicans — LAS VEGAS — Saying the coming weeks will be "one of the last opportunities" to alter the course of the war, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he is now willing to compromise with Republicans to find ways to limit troop deployments in Iraq.
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Where Does Hsu Get The Money? — The mystery of Norman Hsu deepens today with a New York Times report on his collapsing cover stories. While the Gray Lady tries to focus on the sudden retreat of Democrats from a man who has raised almost a million dollars for them, the real story comes …
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New York Times:
More Realism, Less Spin — A new report from Congress's investigative arm provides a powerful fresh dose of nonpartisan realism about Iraq as President Bush tries to spin people into thinking that significant — or at least sufficient — progress is being made.
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Hindrocket / Power Line:
JUST READ THE HEADLINE; DON'T ASK ANY QUESTIONS — When Marines were accused of committing atrocities at Haditha, Mad Jack Murtha and many others rushed to convict them. We have followed the story as those accusations have fallen apart, and one Marine after another has been exonerated.
Discussion:
PrairiePundit
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Times of London:
How life returned to the streets in a showpiece city that drove out al-Qaeda — An American 'martyr' is being hailed in the Sunni Triangle for restoring peace to a town where soldiers now fight only water leaks — Watch Martin Fletcher's report from Ramadi
Washington Post:
HHS Toned Down Breast-Feeding Ads — In an attempt to raise the nation's historically low rate of breast-feeding, federal health officials commissioned an attention-grabbing advertising campaign a few years ago to convince mothers that their babies faced real health risks if they did not breast-feed.
CNN:
Plane carrying U.S. lawmakers fired fired upon — (CNN) — A U.S. military plane carrying three U.S. senators and one member of the House of Representatives came under rocket fire Thursday night and had to make evasive maneuvers as it left Baghdad for Amman, Jordan.