Leading Democrat in Senate Tells Reporters, 'This War Is Lost'  —  As Congressional Democrats sought to reconcile their differences and send an Iraq spending bill to the White House, Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, said Thursday that "this war is lost," a stark assessment …

Maybe Gonzales Won't Recall His Painful Day on the Hill  —  Alberto Gonzales's tenure as attorney general was pronounced dead at 3:02 p.m. yesterday by Tom Coburn, M.D.  —  The good doctor, who also happens to be a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made this clinical judgment …

A HERO IS LAID TO REST  —  The funeral of Professor Liviu Librescu, who gave his life to save his students at VA Tech, took place this morning.  PJM Tel Aviv editor Allison Kaplan Sommer was there.  —  The Middle Eastern sun shone bright in the cemetery where Professor Liviu Librescu …

Training Iraqi troops no longer driving force in U.S. policy  —  WASHINGTON - Military planners have abandoned the idea that standing up Iraqi troops will enable American soldiers to start coming home soon and now believe that U.S. troops will have to defeat the insurgents and secure control of troubled provinces.

Gates Warns Iraq Leaders That 'Clock Is Ticking' on U.S. Presence  —  Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived in Baghdad on Thursday to convey a blunt message to Iraq's leadership three months after the United States began an increase of more than 28,000 troops in the country.  "The clock is ticking," he said.

'I found Saddam's WMD bunkers'  —  It's a fair bet that you have never heard of a guy called Dave Gaubatz.  It's also a fair bet that you think the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has found absolutely nothing, nada, zilch; and that therefore there never were any WMD programmes …

Radio host Michael Smerconish to be simulcast on MSNBC in place of Imus  —  According to an April 20 article on Philly.com, the website of The Philadelphia Inquirer, "The Big Talker 1210 AM morning show of Daily News columnist Michael Smerconish is to be simulcast Monday through Wednesday on MSNBC."

Three days after guilty plea, Griles ties the knot  —  Two Bush administration officials who have been linked in scandal are now linked in wedlock.  —  The union of former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles and Sue Ellen Wooldridge could have implications for the investigation into Griles's ties to ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

THE NETWORKS CANCEL HIS VIDEOS AFTER ONE HOT RATINGS PERIOD.  —  Fox News Channel Senior Vice President John Moody distributed a memo to his staff this morning announcing the network's decision to "severely restrict" its use of the media package Cho Seung-Hui sent to NBC News.

Impeachment Fever Rises  —  When Nancy Pelosi announced last fall that impeachment was "off the table," official Washington accepted that the primary avenue for holding lawless Presidents to account had been closed off by the new Speaker of the House.  But the Republic's citizenry has not been so inclined.

'Devastating' Moyers Probe of Press and Iraq Coming  —  NEW YORK (Commentary) The most powerful indictment of the news media for falling down in its duties in the run-up to the war in Iraq will appear next Wednesday, a 90-minute PBS broadcast called "Buying the War," which marks the return of "Bill Moyers Journal."

Times Co., Gannett and Tribune Co. Report Declines  —  Buffeted by an ongoing advertising recession, The New York Times Company and the Gannett Company announced yesterday that their first-quarter profits declined while the Tribune Company reported a loss.  —  The disappointing results underscored …

12 Senators Left!  Keep Calling.  —  Major media outlets are reporting that the Senator in question is definitely a Republican.  Since we know that the Senator is a Republican we can narrow down our search to the remaining 12 Republican Senators.  Help find the anonymous Senator and call these 12 Senators today.

Renzi steps down from House panel after raid on firm  —  WASHINGTON - Rep. Rick Renzi stepped down temporarily from the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday, after the FBI raided his family's business in connection with an ongoing federal investigation.  —  Agents took documents …

Thousands expected for Obama fund-raiser at BU  —  His 1st visit since he announced  —  It won't be a typical political fund-raiser, with a few hundred people seated at round dinner tables in a hotel ballroom.  Instead, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois will address thousands of local college students …