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Carolyn Kay
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The Senate voted yesterday to tie war funding to a requirement that President Bush begin a troop withdrawal from Iraq by this fall, setting the stage for a presidential veto followed by months of wrangling over the future of US military intervention in the Middle East.

The Illustrated Daily Scribble

The World

Bombers strike at Iraqi army, civilians
BAGHDAD - Bombers struck an Iraqi army post northeast of Baghdad and civilian targets in the city as violence across Iraq killed at least 72 people Thursday, including the bullet-riddled bodies of 27 men dumped in the capital — apparent victims of sectarian death squads. Still, the top American military spokesman insisted the U.S. command felt "very comfortable" that it is making "steady progress" in restoring order in Baghdad.

Saudi King, Egypt's Mubarak Keep Distance From Bush as Mideast Chill Grows
President George W. Bush's top Arab allies, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi King Abdullah, are edging away from him, skeptical about his ability to end bloodshed in Baghdad, make progress on Palestinian statehood and contain Iran's nuclear program.

Palestinians fire rockets toward Israel
JERUSALEM - Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets toward Israel on Thursday, the army said, and Israeli officials warned they were losing patience as rising tensions threatened a five-month cease-fire.

Taliban take over south Afghan district
KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban militants have seized control of a district in eastern Afghanistan after an hours-long clash that killed five people, including the local mayor and his police chief, a senior official said Friday.

Nigerian opposition rejects vote results
ABUJA, Nigeria - Nigeria's main opposition party said Thursday it will not recognize or cooperate with any government formed as a result of last weekend's presidential election, which was won by the party of outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Ethiopia ensnared in Somalia
Four months after the nation declared its "war on terror" against an Islamic movement in Somalia, Ethiopia remains entangled in a situation that analysts are comparing to the U.S. experience in Iraq.

The Nation

Democrats take shots at Bush, not each other
Eight Democratic White House hopefuls Thursday evening participated in an unusually early presidential debate. While they uniformly criticized President Bush for his handling of the war in Iraq, the candidates largely declined to take shots at each other.

Giuliani leads in key 2008 states, Gore shows strong: poll
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Republican Rudolph Giuliani is favored over Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton for the US presidency in three key electoral states, while ex-vice president Al Gore might be the Democrats strongest choice for 2008, a new poll showed Thursday.

U.S. surge fails to stem Baghdad violence, general says
Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, said Thursday that the surge of U.S. and Iraqi troops into Baghdad hadn't reduced overall violence in the country and that the situation was "exceedingly complex."

Cheney draws protests even at BYU
PROVO, Utah - Vice President Dick Cheney told Brigham Young University graduates on Thursday to savor second chances and be prepared for the unexpected throughout life in a commencement address that stirred up protests in one of the nation's most Republican states.

Rice Signals Rejection of House Subpoenas
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday she has already answered the questions she has been subpoenaed to answer before a congressional committee and suggested she is not inclined to comply with the order. Rice said she would respond by mail to questions from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the Bush administration's prewar claims about Saddam Hussein seeking weapons of mass destruction, but signaled she would not appear in person.

Bush Appointee "Led by Power"
So far, Bradley Schlozman has been a minor character in the U.S. attorneys scandal. He ought to be a major one. To put the case succinctly: Schlozman was the most aggressively political of the political appointees in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. And the administration installed him as the U.S. attorney in a key swing state in an election year. And to clinch it all, … he delivered.

Media

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Who's Counting?: The media should avoid early election polls
While it certainly feels like the presidential election cycle has started earlier than ever, a more important issue is what sort of coverage of the process the media are providing citizens. Much of what voters are seeing is reporting and analysis of early polls, which show Rudolph Giuliani with a wide lead over his Republican counterparts, and senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama leading the Democratic field.

http://www.mediachannel.org/out.php?url=http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/04/26/media-too-rough-on-bush-says-murdoch/">Media Too Rough On Bush, Says Murdoch
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has told a large audience of business leaders the press is routinely unfair to George W Bush and the US President does not seem capable of defending himself.
Now we know where the Fox News Channel gets its penchant for reporting the exact opposite of the truth. —Caro

White House: What's Wrong with A Little Information?
According to Dana Perino, there's not a thing wrong with the presentations given by Karl Rove and his deputies to agencies throughout the federal government. Perino was in full spin mode during the White House briefing today, at one point calling a reporter's question about the presentations "ridiculous."

Roll Call uncritically quoted Cheney's false claim that Reid is "adamantly opposed to any funding for the troops"
An April 26 Roll Call article (subscription only) on the Iraq war debate uncritically quoted Vice President Dick Cheney's false claim, made on the April 15 edition of CBS' Face the Nation, that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) "has said he's adamantly opposed to any funding for the troops." In fact, as Media Matters for America noted, Reid voted for the emergency supplemental funding bill that the Senate passed on March 29 and voted for the conference report on the bill, which the Senate passed during the afternoon of April 26.

You Can Hear the Animus
Torn between pain and amusement, Marshall watches "Dean" of the D.C. press corps David Broder "struggle so desperately for relevance and even coherence" in a column equating embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “So, Gonzales, almost universally judged a liar and an incompetent who has dragged the administration into one of its most politically perilous scandals yet. Reid, frequently makes off-the-cuff remarks that are anathema to Broderite Beltway insiders. Sounds about even, I guess.”

Could an Apple digital reader save the newspaper industry?
David Evans says if anyone's going to save the newspaper industry, it's likely to be someone like Steve Jobs who can devise an appealing way to make newspapers available digitally. "Suppose someone invented a digital newspaper, connected wirelessly to the Internet, that people actually enjoyed reading over coffee in the morning or taking along their morning train ride. Then newspapers could insert advertisements that people could click on, or advertisements that were tailored to knowledge about the person reading the ad. They would be playing on a more level playing field with Google and similar firms."

Technology & Science

'$100 laptop' to cost $175
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The founder of the ambitious "$100 laptop" project, which plans to give inexpensive computers to schoolchildren in developing countries, revealed Thursday that the machine for now costs $175, and it will be able to run Windows in addition to its homegrown, open-source interface.

U.S. schools may join inexpensive laptop project
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - A project that aims to deliver low-priced laptops with string pulleys to the world's poorest children may have a new market: U.S. schools.
Woo hoo! This makes very good sense. —Caro

Hispanic social-networking sites prosper
MIAMI - Indie rocker Eric Monterrosa checks his ElHood.com Web page at least three times a day, answering fans, surfing for other new Latin artists and keeping in touch with friends from his native Colombia.

Scientists identify new genes linked to diabetes
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The most thorough probe to date of the genetic underpinnings of the most common form of diabetes has identified a new batch of genes that increases risk for a disease affecting 200 million people globally.

Genetic Discrimination to be Banned
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act passed by a vote of 420-3 in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The act makes it illegal to deny someone health insurance or job opportunities based on genetic information taken from their DNA .

Scientists predict next solar cycle peak
WASHINGTON - The peak of the next sunspot cycle is expected in late 2011 or mid-2012 — potentially affecting airline flights, communications satellites and electrical transmissions. But forecasters can't agree on how intense it will be.

Environment

Climate Panel Sees Need for New Steps on Emissions
Developing countries, where an unparalleled burst of industrialization is under way, offer major opportunities for avoiding emissions, a draft said.

Volcanoes Triggered Ancient Warming Event
The same volcanic eruptions that sundered Greenland from Western Europe and created Iceland also triggered intense global warming 55 million years ago, scientists say. The event changed global rainfall patterns, broiled and acidified the oceans, and killed up to 50 percent of the world’s deep-sea organisms. The warm climate also opened up new migration routes for horses and other mammals into North America and might have even fueled early primate evolution.

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