Entries for April 26, 2007

Shortly before 1 p.m. today, the U.S. Senate narrowly approved the conference report for the Iraq spending bill containing a deadline for the withdrawal of most U.S. troops in Iraq, the last vote before the bill is sent to the president for an almost certain veto.

The roll call for the 51-to-46 vote is available here.

Two Republicans, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon, voted with the 48 Democrats (every one except Tim Johnson of South Dakota, who is recovering from brain surgery). Independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont voted for the bill; independent Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut voted against.

Also not voting were Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Had Hagel and Smith voted with the rest of their party, then either Graham's or McCain's vote would have been sufficient for a tie, which Vice President Cheney would have been able to break in favor of the administration.

Two separate legal fights are making headlines today in the nation's capital. For the essential background on how these stories developed, here are a couple of links from the U.S.News & World Report archives:

Today: The New York Times led today's edition with news that the Justice Department wants to curtail access that lawyers have to inmates being held at Guantánamo Bay.

Behind the Story: "A Righteous Indignation," by Angie C. Marek, March 20, 2005

"Tom Wilner's is not exactly the résumé of a firebrand, but in the three years since he agreed to represent several Kuwaiti men held at the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, that's precisely what he's become."

Today: The Supreme Court threw out three Texas death sentences in a 5-to-4 decision, with Justice Anthony Kennedy as the deciding vote, swinging the verdict toward the liberals on the court.

Behind the Story: "The Supremes' Next Swing Man," by Liz Halloran, Nov. 13, 2005

"And Kennedy, the serious but unpretentious judge from Sacramento, is on the verge of standing alone as the most influential voice--the potential fifth vote--on a deeply divided court."

At the opening gala of the Tribeca Film Festival last night, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Vice President Al Gore continued to publicly flirt with the presidential race, with Bloomberg joking, ostensibly about Gore, "Don't you just hate those rumors about running for president?"

But in an interview yesterday, one of the mayor's deputies and chief advisers suggested that, jokes aside, Bloomberg has shut the door on a White House run. Bloomberg was elected mayor in 2001, and his centrist record let him cruise to re-election in 2005.

Even as the three cabinet secretaries tapped by President Bush to review the Virginia Tech shootings hit the road this week on a listening tour, the White House is considering a broader commission to study and recommend changes to school security and related issues, according to officials.

While the trio--Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt--plan to look at mental health and security issues from kindergarten to college, the broader commission would include many more officials from school systems, colleges, and health fields. But a White House official said the idea for a commission is still in the planning stages and that it might not be formed if the cabinet approach works.

This morning's top stories:

• The House of Representatives passed the Iraq funding bill, including the timetable for withdrawal by a 218-208 vote (roll call here). The Senate is expected to do so as well today, setting the stage for the president's promised veto early next week.
• Meanwhile, at least nine are dead in a suicide car bombing at a checkpoint in northern Iraq.
• Back home, Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani is under fire from his Democratic counterparts for suggesting that electing a Democrat as president would make the country more prone to another terrorist attack.
• Authorities say the second shooting at Virginia Tech, which left 32 people and the gunman dead, lasted nine minutes and required 170 rounds.
• The Republican National Committee turned over a list Wednesday to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of all White House officials who had separate E-mail accounts with the RNC, possibly circumventing record-keeping laws.
• Go to Sunday school, get of out jail free: A man in Cincinnati is free on bond after successfully reciting the 23rd Psalm at a judge's request. He was accused of trying to use a stolen credit card.