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Bush to Deliver State of the Union Amid Partisan Division By Jim Malone Washington 27 January 2006 President Bush delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday to outline his policy objectives for the year ahead. But at the moment, there appears to be a great deal of disunity between Republicans and Democrats over issues like national security, congressional corruption and the Supreme Court. George Bush Over the past week, President Bush has mounted a vigorous defense of a domestic surveillance program being conducted by the National Security Agency that he says targets communications with suspected terrorists. "The program is...

Few Democrats willing to stand up for statewide races By Jason Embry By W. Gardner Selby AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, December 04, 2005 On the eve of an election year when the governorship, a U.S. Senate seat and other statewide posts are on the ballot, the Texas Democratic Party last week was urging visitors to its Web site to get behind four hopefuls — including the mother of NFL quarterback Drew Brees — running for the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals. Activists insist that their focus on races such as the 24-county judicial contest is not a sign that the party...

Federal judge punts, sends Democrats' suit to 3-judge panel Kazen critical of both sides in redistricting standoff By R.G. RATCLIFFE Aug. 27, 2003, 2:57PM LAREDO -- A federal judge told lawyers for runaway Democratic senators today that he believes their lawsuit seeking voting rights and free speech protections is all but totally frivolous, but he agreed to leave the final decision to a three-judge panel. U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen said he believes Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's push for mid-decade congressional redistricting is wrong and a waste of taxpayer money. However, Kazen also criticized the...

Dems get little salve from judge Frustrated Whitmire almost bolts for home By RACHEL GRAVES, ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA and R.G. RATCLIFFE Aug. 28, 2003, 12:06AM ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- After getting little comfort from a judge they hoped would advance their cause, 11 Democrats boycotting the Texas Senate in a partisan standoff vowed Wednesday to stay away even as one of them acknowledged he had been on the verge of heading home. The senators took Sen. John Whitmire of Houston to task at a closed-door meeting Wednesday evening, after he expressed impatience with the continuing impasse and indicated his bags were packed...

Judges dampen Democrats' legal hopes Panel of 3 will hear voting rights lawsuit By R.G. RATCLIFFE Aug. 29, 2003, 12:53AM AUSTIN -- Democrats' hopes of winning court relief in their congressional redistricting battle dimmed further Thursday after a judicial panel of two Republicans and a Democrat was named to hear their voting rights lawsuit. U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King named fellow appellate Judge Patrick Higginbotham and U.S. District Judges George P. Kazen and Lee Rosenthal to the panel to hear the Democrats' case. Kazen, during a hearing Wednesday in Laredo, made clear to Democratic...

Senators not coming home anytime soon Denying reports of travel, fugitives say they fear arrest By ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA Aug. 30, 2003, 12:04AM ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Texas Democrats holed up in Albuquerque for more than a month denied a report Friday that some of them were coming home, saying their opponents in a redistricting battle easily could maneuver to arrest them if they did. Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus and one of the 11 Democratic senators who fled Texas a month ago, said several senators have left Albuquerque for the Labor Day...

Demos resist desire to return home By Guillermo X. Garcia Express-News Austin Bureau Web Posted : 08/31/2003 12:00 AM ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Thirty-five days after defiantly leaving the state, and five days after successfully killing a second special session on redistricting, the Texas 11 are no closer to home this holiday weekend. Although some of the AWOL Democratic state senators had hoped to spend the long weekend with friends and family back in Texas — one member even made tentative reservations to return to Houston — they remain holed up in a high-rise hotel here with no clear exit strategy....

Low on options, Senate Democrats realizing there's no easy way home By R.G. RATCLIFFE Aug. 31, 2003, 11:19PM AUSTIN -- The Albuquerque Democrats might as well learn the Ballad of the Alamo, because no reinforcements are coming and they're running out of ammunition. Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, Democratic Caucus chair, completed the picture last week by drawing a figurative line in the sand to keep Sen. John Whitmire of Houston inside the senators' out-of-state fortress. "We work on consensus, no matter what you've heard," said Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston. "Even Travis and Bowie had a big...

Standoff may crumble Whitmire returns; Perry weighs 3rd special session By RACHEL GRAVES and ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA Sept. 2, 2003, 10:25PM State Sen. John Whitmire came home to Houston late Tuesday, possibly ending the long holdout by Texas Democratic senators who fled the state to prevent a vote on congressional redistricting. Whitmire, who revealed earlier Tuesday that he had sneaked home over the Labor Day weekend, returned to Albuquerque, N.M., to meet with his colleagues but did not even unpack his bags before catching a flight back to Houston Tuesday night. He said he remains opposed to redistricting, but he would...

Democrats' walkout stumbles By Guillermo X. Garcia Express-News Austin Bureau Web Posted : 09/03/2003 12:00 AM ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 37-day walkout by Texas Senate Democrats to stop redistricting started to unravel Tuesday when Sen. John Whitmire of Houston returned to Texas, saying he'd continue the fight there, not in New Mexico. Whitmire, the dean of the Senate, spent the weekend in Houston, rejoined his colleagues here for several hours Tuesday, then flew back in the evening. In an interview before conferring with the 10 other senators who fled the state July 28 to stop a GOP effort to redraw...

Whitmire says redistricting will be debated in Austin By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press Sept. 3, 2003, 3:12PM The first Democratic senator to break ranks with the boycotting legislators who fled to New Mexico said today that ultimately congressional redistricting will have to be debated on the Texas Senate floor. Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat, said if Republican Gov. Rick Perry decides to continue calling special legislative sessions on the issue, the governor can outlast the 10 Senate Democrats who remain in Albuquerque, N.M. "We cannot remain in New Mexico indefinitely. At some point in time, unless you're prepared...

'We failed,' Whitmire says, but vows to continue fight By RACHEL GRAVES Sept. 4, 2003, 1:38PM John Whitmire had already spent weeks pacing the halls of the Albuquerque Marriott like a caged tiger when reality set in. A federal court would likely rule against him and 10 other Texas state senators on the lam in New Mexico, and the U.S. Justice Department would probably work against their attempts to stall a Republican redistricting effort, the Houston Democrat thought. As the hotel walls grew more confining, the options of returning to Texas to deliberately get arrested or persuading 51 House members...

Redistricting fight turns into attack on Bush Associated Press Sept. 4, 2003, 5:25PM WASHINGTON -- Texas state Democrats turned their redistricting fight into an attack on President Bush today, accusing him of trampling on minority voting rights and being part of a Republican national power grab. Three of the remaining 10 Democratic state senators who fled Texas over the redistricting dispute were in Washington to promote new radio and TV ads that will run in swing presidential states including Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Arizona, New York, Nevada and Texas, along with the District of Columbia. The ads, which will begin...

Democrats await next session on redistricting By JOHN W. GONZALEZ and ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA Sept. 10, 2003, 11:09PM LAREDO -- Ten Democratic state senators ended their quorum-busting, six-week sojourn in New Mexico on Wednesday with a vow to resume their redistricting fight in Austin if a former ally from Houston helps make a Senate quorum when lawmakers convene in special session Monday. The senators came here first because three federal judges will hold a hearing in Laredo today on the Democrats' bid to derail the Republican-backed effort to redraw Texas' congressional district boundaries. Although the senators' absence precluded Senate action in...

4-year scandal of the 9/11 billions How massive fed aid got eaten by waste & lax rules This series was reported and written by the Daily News Investigative Team: RUSS BUETTNER, HEIDI EVANS, ROBERT GEARTY, BRIAN KATES, GREG B. SMITH and Assistant Managing Editor RICHARD T. PIENCIAK President Bush stands with Firefighter Bob Beckwith at Ground Zero on Sept. 14, 2001, the day after promising massive aid to the city. No science behind number Just two days after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, with the nation still in deep collective shock, President Bush met in the Oval...

Signs point to a strong economy By LARRY KUDLOW Columnist Posted on Thu, Dec. 01, 2005 Here are a few things IÂ’ve learned recently: â–  The boat-building business is booming, with big backlogs for orders in the $80,000 to $300,000 price range. Why is this important? Prosperity. People buy luxury items when theyÂ’ve got the money to do so. This is a very positive economic-growth indicator. â–  A midsized U.S. insurance company has been issuing a record number of group employee-benefit packages for disability, accident and other coverage to small companies. This is a sign of new- and small-business formation,...

Reporter's Notebook: The Making of "Winning Iraq" By Greg Palkot FNC's Greg Palkot It was one of those good news/bad news offers. The good news is you get to go to Iraq to do something more than the typical schedule of live shots. The bad news is you get to go to Iraq and do more than the typical schedule of live shots. Meaning: You put yourself in as much harm's way as nearly possible to find out how people not trying to cause harm are living. You see the point is, we, out of necessity in the business,...

Man dies in tractor-trailer wreck From Staff Reports Thursday, December 1, 2005 Guilford County EMS personnel and a firefighter work at a wreck involving an 18-wheeler on West Market Street in Greensboro. GREENSBORO - A middle-age man was killed in an early-morning wreck Thursday on West Market Street after he pulled his car into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer, police said. The wreck occurred at the intersection West Market and Landmark Drive. The impact pushed both vehicles about 50 yards east of the collision, where they came to a rest on the side of the westbound lanes of West...

News Tip: Upcoming Supreme Court Case 'Huge' for Abortion Rights, Law Professor Says “The question in this case isn’t whether Roe v. Wade is going to be overturned, but whether it is going to be severely undermined,’’ says Neil Siegel Monday, November 28, 2005 Durham, N.C. -- On Nov. 30, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider a challenge to a New Hampshire law that could significantly affect abortion rights, a Duke University law professor says. In Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the Court will consider, among other things, how courts should analyze abortion restrictions and whether a...

Politically connected consultant gets 12 months The Associated Press November 29. 2005 4:52PM Raymond Reggie, a media consultant and son of a politically prominent former Louisiana judge, was sentenced Tuesday to 12 months in prison for bank fraud. Reggie pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of bank fraud and one count of bank fraud conspiracy involving a scheme to cheat banks in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier gave Reggie 12 months on each charge, and ordered the sentences to be served at the same time. Reggies also was ordered to serve three years...

New York state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Goldman Sachs Chairman & CEO Henry Paulson; New York Gov. George Pataki; Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY; James Gill, Chairman of the Battery Park City Authority; and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, left to right, toss ceremonial shovels of dirt at the ground breaking of the $2.4 billion Goldman Sachs world headquarters, in lower Manhattan, Tuesday Nov. 29, 2005. Goldman Sachs' decision in August to build its world headquarters across from the World Trade Center site, hinged on agreements by state and city leaders to finance the project with...

Hurricane season finally ending, but next year could be bad, too By JOHN PAIN Associated Press Writer November 29. 2005 4:27PM The busiest and costliest Atlantic hurricane season on record officially - and mercifully - draws to a close Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of Americans still dealing with the devastation wrought by Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Despite the end of the June 1-to-Nov. 30 season, hurricanes could still form over the next few months. In fact, a tropical storm took shape in the Atlantic on Tuesday. But no hurricane has been known to hit the United States between December...

Oakland grocers set to fight vandals Police say they will have more details this week in the attacks on two liquor stores By William Brand, STAFF WRITER NATION OF ISLAM minister Tony Muhammad, standing in front of Muhammad Mosque 26 in Oakland on Saturday, says the Nation had no part in the destruction inside two West Oakland liquor stores Wednesday night. (GREG TARCZYNSKI) OAKLAND — The president of the Yemini American Grocery Association said Saturday that grocers have the right to defend themselves if their stores are invaded like two West Oakland markets were hit Wednesday night. The association, which...

Steele banking on Bush visit But presidential tie seen by some as a liability By Jennifer Skalka Sun reporter Originally published November 26, 2005 President Bush's approval ratings have hit an all-time low in Maryland, but Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, a candidate for U.S. Senate, is betting that Bush still has cachet with the state's most dedicated Republican donors. The president will headline his first fundraiser for Steele on Wednesday at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens. Tickets to the lunch, for which business attire is required, range from $125 for general admission to $5,000 for a...

The biggest idiot. The largest doofus. The numbnut that can't be ignored. The goofball that performs beyond anyone's imagination...My nominee - someone who constantly reminds us all just how corrupt the impeached *Crinton administration was, is, and continues to be... Berger Is Fined For Smuggling Classified PapersWahington Post Online Friday, September 9, 2005 By Carol D. Leonnig A federal judge yesterday ordered former national security adviser Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger to pay a $50,000 fine and give up his security clearance for three years as the penalty for smuggling classified terrorism documents out of the National Archives in 2003. The...

My question - if the Beast kisses both *Billy Jeff and Ellen, doesn't that make her just another carrier? (I sure hope she's kept her shot record current...) Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (R) is seen with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres on the Staten Island Ferry touring the New York waterways, in this undated handout photograph released by Warner Bros. on November 19, 2005. This segment airs on Monday, November 21st as part of Ellen's New York Five Borough Show. EDITORIAL USE ONLY REUTERS/Albert Ferreira/Warner Bros./Handout

Passport plan won't better border security The Saratogian, 11/20/2005 Imagine having to show a passport to visit a friend or relative or go to a business luncheon. That's what residents along New York's northern border face because of the proposed Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. While a driver's license or birth certificate is all that's needed now, the initiative would require passports by 2008 at all land crossings into the United States. This is an effort to block terrorists, but it's a stumble in homeland security that ignores actual gaps in border protection. Terrorists tend not to bother with niceties such...

Preserving the Earth, One Joke at a Time By MICHAEL JANOFSKY Published: November 19, 2005 Jeffrey Tambor performing at the comedy show "Earth to America." Isaac Brekken for The New York TimesLAS VEGAS, Nov. 18 - Ice caps are melting. Oceans are rising. Villages are disappearing. Wild animals are not quite sure what is going on. Pretty funny stuff, eh? Well, on Thursday night it was, as a parade of comedians and a few serious actors joined forces here at Caesars Palace for two and a half hours of environmental consciousness-raising in a live show called "Earth to America," focused...

Bush backs Putin on nuke fuel supply for Iran By Joseph Curl The Washington Times November 19, 2005 Members and supporters of the Union of Jewish Students in France shout slogans near Iran's embassy in Paris November 2, 2005. About 100 demonstrators gathered to protest against Iran's politics after Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for Israel's destruction. REUTERS/Victor TonelliPUSAN, South Korea -- President Bush told Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday that the United States supports Moscow's proposal to allow Iran to enrich uranium for a nuclear power plant at a facility to be built in Russia. The two leaders have...

Black caucus suing over budget cutsBy ELLEN TANDY etandy@wbrz.com 2theadvocate.com staff From a report by News 2's John Pastorek jp@wbrz.com Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco gestures during her address at the opening of a joint session of the state legislature in the House chambers of the State Capitol Sunday evening Nov. 6, 2005 in Baton Rouge, LA.. The Govenor called a special session of the legislature to deal with hurricane recovery efforts in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (AP Photos/Stephan Savoia) A Baton Rouge judge Wednesday put off hearing a lawsuit against Gov. Kathleen Blanco's budget cuts. The Legislative...

Probes may have 'chilling effect' on media By Nick Madigan Sun Reporter Originally published November 16, 2005 The investigations into anonymous leaks in the nation's capital could confound the symbiotic relationship between government officials and reporters, according to observers of the interaction between the press and the politicians they cover. The probes, first in the Valerie Plame case and now in The Washington Post's story about covert CIA prisons, have prompted questions about the benefits and pitfalls of leaking national security secrets, and whether the prospect of investigations into their provenance will mean the leaks could dry up. "What if...

Judicial society announces Greensboro location Michelle Cater Rash The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area - 3:09 PM EST Monday The American Judicature Society formally announced Monday that its new Institute of Forensic Science and Public Policy will be coming to downtown Greensboro. Close to 100 city leaders, attorneys and judges gathered in the former City Club on the top floor of the Jefferson Pilot building for the announcement. The institute will be a think tank to look at forensic science standards for use by law enforcement agencies, attorneys and courts. The institute will be advised by the society's...

Ga. Woman Charged After Marrying Teen Boy 1 hour, 36 minutes ago GAINESVILLE, Ga. - A 37-year-old woman has been charged with child molestation for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy whom she married last week. The Gainesville Times quoted unidentified members of the boy's family as saying that Lisa Lynnette Clark is pregnant with the boy's child and that they were married Tuesday. The boy's grandmother, Judy Hayles, said she received an official notice of the marriage because she is the boy's guardian. She had filed a complaint against Clark on Oct. 6. Clark was arrested...

9/11 Panel Gives White House Mixed ReviewBy BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer 1 hour, 10 minutes ago Fred Fielding, a member of the Sept. 11 commission, prepares to join other panelists in a progress report on the 2004 recommendations aimed at guarding against future terrorist attacks, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, Monday, Nov. 14, 2005. Fielding, a former Nixon White House counsel, praised U.S. attempts to integrate the Arab and Muslim world into the global trading system and in fighting terrorism financing. The Bush administration was given a mixed review and was criticized for not...

House takes up leak reviewThursday, November 10, 2005 8:01 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) - The House Intelligence Committee will look into a possible leak of classified information about secret CIA prisons but will not reopen its 2003 inquiry into prewar intelligence on Iraq. As calls for intelligence-related reviews grow on Capitol Hill, Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., said Thursday his committee will study several specific leaks of classified information, including a Nov. 2 Washington Post story that discussed the existence of secret CIA prisons overseas. The story said the ‘‘black sites'' were in eight countries, including democracies in Eastern Europe. Hoekstra...

Support for Category 5 Storm Protection in New Orleans Ebbs in D.C. BY BILL WALSH And BRUCE ALPERT Newhouse News Service Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco speaks at a Rebuilding and Recovery Conference in New Orleans, La., Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005. Blanco talked about the effects of Hurricane Katrina and how the state would have to rebuild. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) WASHINGTON -- In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the tattered Gulf Coast received an outpouring of sympathy -- and money -- from Washington. Congress appropriated $62 billion for relief and recovery, and President Bush vowed to rebuild New Orleans "higher...

Feds Indict 2 in Missile-Smuggling Scheme 47 minutes ago LOS ANGELES - A federal grand jury indicted two men Wednesday for allegedly conspiring to smuggle surface-to-air missiles into the United States for use abroad. Such missiles are designed to bring down aircraft. The U.S. attorney's office said the charges marked the first time a 2004 anti-terrorism law has been used. The law calls for a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and the possibility of life in prison without parole if convicted. Chao Tung Wu, 51, and Yi Qing Chen, 41, are naturalized U.S. citizens born in China, authorities said....

Officials hope tax 'reform' is now dead By: RICHARD ROTH 11/08/2005 HILLSDALE-The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, which was established in January 2005 to recommend options that would make the tax code simpler, fairer and more conducive to economic growth, issued its final report last week. Among the panels recommendations are a reduction in the deduction for mortgage interest, and the elimination of deductions for state and local taxes. But none of the area's representatives in Washington expect those recommendations to result in legislation. While they did not specifically address the mortgage interest deduction, both senators and both...

Al Franken (L) speaks to U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in Boston, Massachusetts in this July 29, 2004 file photo. He pioneered mock television news 30 years ago and wrote a satirical book about becoming the 44th president of the United States. So when comedian Al Franken says he is considering a run for the U.S. Senate you have to ask--is he serious? To accompany feature Arts-Franken. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn/Files

Vermont may sue to stop tire burn November 6, 2005 By Darren M Allen Staff Writer MONTPELIER — If New York environmental officials choose to disregard Vermont's opposition to plans by International Paper Co. to burn up to 72 tons of shredded tires at its Ticonderoga, N.Y., paper mill for a two-week test, Vermont will likely take the matter to court. Gov. James Douglas and his administration, in cooperation with the Vermont Attorney General's Office, are prepared to exercise every legal avenue at their disposal, the governor's press secretary said last week. "Gov. Douglas has asked the Agency of Administration...

State Battles Likely if Roe Overturned By DAVID CRARY, Associated Press Writer Sat Nov 5,11:56 PM ET NEW YORK - Undoubtedly, there would be tumult — likely roiling every statehouse in the nation. Beyond that, little is certain about what would unfold if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the divisive 1973 decision establishing a woman's right to have an abortion. Reversal remains only a hypothesis for now, yet both sides in the abortion debate are discussing the demise of Roe as an increasingly serious possibility. President Bush's nomination of conservative Samuel Alito to replace moderate Justice Sandra Day...

Congress Plans to Raise Budget for Census By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer 32 minutes ago WASHINGTON - The census always been about more than just counting people and divvying up seats in Congress. The first one, in 1790, was used to find out how many "free white males" were available for military service. The 1870 census documented freed slaves who had been denied the right to vote. In 1940, it assessed housing conditions following the Great Depression. Times change and so does the census, evolving over two centuries to reflect America's shifting economy and values. Today, it is on...

La. Lawmakers Hold Session on Storm Relief By DOUG SIMPSON Associated Press Writer The Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. Louisiana lawmakers have just over two weeks to chart their hurricane-ravaged state's future, from rewriting building codes to weighing tax breaks to changing how employment benefits are calculated, and then answering the big question: how to pay for it all. Gov. Kathleen Blanco called the special session starting Sunday for the Legislature to address 77 hurricane-related issues. It has to end by Nov. 22, two days before Thanksgiving. "Frankly, I think it's too much to do in 16 days, but we'll...

FEMA asks Louisiana for $3.7 billion By BRETT TROXLER btroxler@wbrz.com 2theadvocate.com staff From a report by News 2's Tony Jones tjones@wbrz.com The federal government is asking Louisiana to come up with more than $3.7 billion. According to FEMA, the amount is a down payment for what the state owes for its share of hurricane relief. Denise Bottcher, a spokeswoman for Gov. Kathleen Blanco, said the state just can't come up with that kind of money. Bottcher said when members of the governor's staff first heard the request, they "just about fell over." Louisiana is already facing a $1 billion budget...

Milwaukee Vets Parade Bans Some Vets Nov 2, 2005 2:46 pm US/Central (AP) MILWAUKEE Organizers of the Milwaukee Veterans Day Parade scheduled Saturday have banned the local Veterans For Peace chapter from the event, saying the group's political activism violates the spirit of the parade to honor veterans. "I will not allow anything political," Mary Ann D'Aquisto, president of Veterans Day Parade of Milwaukee Inc., said Tuesday. She appeared at a news conference called by John Zutz, a leader of the local peace group, to denounce the action. "You're trying to use our parade to further your political agenda," D'Aquisto...

CIA Leak Will Blow Up in Democrat Faces November 3, 2005 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: As many of you know, I have been suspicious of this whole Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame Niger CIA story for a long time, and I wouldn't be surprised -- I can't make the allegation but I wouldn't be surprised -- if before this is all over we learn that the whole thing was an attempted coup, if you will, to send this guy Wilson over to Niger to purposely undermine the Bush war on terror and the Bush administration and hopefully have an effect on...

Not A Good Thing Ibd Wed Nov 2, 7:00 PM ET Politics: If stealing and destroying secret documents, stuffing them into your pants and then lying about it isn't a crime worthy of jail time, why is having a different recollection of events than Tim Russert? If the charges swirling around Scooter Libby -- that he deceived those investigating a crime for which he was not charged -- seem familiar, they should. Not long ago Martha Stewart was indicted and convicted, not of insider trading in a suspiciously timed stock sale, but of deceiving investigators into a crime for which...

Inside Hurricane Katrina []Tuesday, November 1, 2005, at 9P August 29, 2005: Hurricane Katrina, a category four hurricane, hits land and storms across Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana leaving in her wake a trail of devastation. Now, in this two-hour special, the National Geographic Channel will take viewers onan in depth examination of Katrina and uncovers the decisions and circumstances that impacted countless Gulf of Mexico residents. Why were so many people left in the path of the storm and why was the response so delayed? Also airs: Wednesday, November 2, 12A Wednesday, November 2, 8:00P NOPD after KarinaPremieres Tuesday, November...

Meeting raises possibility that Nagin may have political future 10/30/2005, 9:58 a.m. CT By KEVIN McGILL The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — There were fewer than 300 seats and more than 500 people jammed into the hotel for a town hall meeting. It was overcrowded and under-air conditioned (nothing new in post-Katrina New Orleans), dozens of unhappy people lined up behind a single microphone and the scene appeared set for an ugly political inquisition as Mayor Ray Nagin entered the room — 30 minutes late. Nagin made an opening statement on housing, then turned it over to the audience....

INDICTMENT THE HISTORY: ANALYSIS Backstory: The push for war Faulty intelligence in the run-up to invation BY CRAIG GORDON WASHINGTON BUREAU October 29, 2005 WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush's administration did all it could Friday to close the book on I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Don't have any contact with Libby about his indictment, staffers were warned. His security clearance - gone. And no goodbye meeting with the president. Libby "has left the White House, and I do not expect him to return," spokesman Scott McClellan said. If only it were that easy. Far from a clean end to the...