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Libby: I Don't Deserve 3 Years in Prison
Tweet Share on Facebook May 31, 2007 CommentLewis "Scooter" Libby told a judge today that he does not deserve the roughly three years behind bars that special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald recommended he receive last week for perjury and obstruction.
Meanwhile, the judge in the case, Reggie B. Walton, decided to release the 150-some letters he received, many of which are expected to express support for the former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.
Last week, Fitzgerald wrote in his sentencing memo that Libby showed no remorse, and recommended that Walton peg Libby with 30 to 37 months of jail time. That memorandum is available here on USNews.com.
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Luring Presidential Wannabes to Your Hometown
Tweet Share on Facebook May 31, 2007 CommentWhich presidential candidate would you want to see in your hometown?
Today users of the website Eventful.com are saying Texas Rep. Ron Paul, no surprise given the candidate's surprisingly vocal support on the Internet.
The website, which allows users to demand that performers come to their cities, is gaining traction among political candidates and political junkies alike, and is beginning to play a role in deciding where candidates appear on the campaign trail. So far, Paul's popularity on the site has translated into an extra stop in Los Angeles, where the congressman received 420 demands overall from users in that area.
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign has also used the site as a communications tool, letting users know when the senator will be appearing in their areas, according to Eventful.com CEO Jordan Glazier.
Eventful.com comes as another tool for candidates to gain support on the Web. The difference, Glazier says, is that unlike popular social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, his site directly translates "online passion into real world activity."
Below is a list of how many requests each candidate appearing on the site has garnered:
--Nikki Schwab
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Backstory: Civil Unions in New Hampshire
Tweet Share on Facebook May 31, 2007 CommentThe governor of New Hampshire signed legislation today legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples starting in January, joining seven states that already allow civil unions or domestic partnerships, including Massachusetts, the only state to allow gay marriage. Oregon also will join those ranks in January.
As U.S.News & World Report noted last August, the political push for gay rights--and the counteroffensive from those advocating a man-and-woman definition of marriage--have evolved, with victories and setbacks for each side.
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Morning Buzz: May 31, 2007
Tweet Share on Facebook May 31, 2007 CommentThis morning's top stories:
- The Russian businessman accused by British officials of playing a role in the death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko counteraccused the British this morning, saying he had evidence that their special services were involved in the murder.
- Meanwhile, Russia and the United States clashed over a proposed missile shield at a planning meeting ahead of the G8 summit in Germany.
- Authorities in both the United States and Europe are attempting to track down the manifests from several flights taken by a man who was discovered to have an extremely drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis.
- Colombian novelist Gabirel Garcia Marquez has returned to his hometown of Aracataca for the first time in 25 years.
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Fred Thompson Almost Announces That He'll Announce
Tweet Share on Facebook May 30, 2007 CommentWhispers Editor Paul Bedard reports today that former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson has decided to toss his hat in the ring and run for the Republican nomination for president and will make the first formal moves next week, which will allow him to begin raising money.
But contrary to a report by the Politico, Bedard says, Thompson will not officially declare on July 4, when many people are away and not paying attention to politics, but at some more strategically sound time near that date.
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Friends of Scooter Libby Fear He'll Be Sent Immediately to Jail
Tweet Share on Facebook May 30, 2007 CommentWhen Lewis "Scooter" Libby is sentenced next month for his involvement in the Valerie Plame-CIA spy scandal, friends and legal allies fear that he will immediately be shipped to jail.
"I think that he will get some jail time and probably be sent away that day," said a member of the Libby Legal Defense Fund.
Libby's supporters plan to make the case again that the prosecution was politically motivated, spun out of control, and ended up nailing someone who wasn't even the leaker of Plame's name in the case. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, however, has already dismissed those claims and added that Libby has shown no remorse for his acts. Fitzgerald is expected to push for a sentence of up to three years in prison for obstruction.
--Paul Bedard
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An American in al Qaeda
Tweet Share on Facebook May 30, 2007 CommentThe most recent threat released by al Qaeda on a popular website for militants features a familiar face and something unusual for a jihadist video: an American accent.
Adam Gadahn, the man featured in the video that promises attacks on American soil worse than 9/11, is a California native and al Qaeda recruit charged with treason by the U.S. government and tagged with a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture. (See his profile on the FBI's website).
Gadahn's indictment last October made him the first American to be charged with treason in over 50 years.
He was also the subject of a long profile in the New Yorker in January.
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Morning Buzz: May 30, 2007
Tweet Share on Facebook May 30, 2007 CommentThis morning's top stories:
- President Bush has nominated Robert Zoellick, a former trade chief in his administration, to replace Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank.
- U.S. and Iraqi troops are searching in the Sadr City area of Baghdad for five British citizens abducted Tuesday.
- Astronomers have found 28 more planets outside our solar system in diverse regions of space, raising the tally of so-called exoplanets to 236.
- Al Qaeda has released a new video threatening attacks worse than 9/11 if the U.S. doesn't pull out of Arab lands.
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Woods Plays Red, White and Blue on the Green
Tweet Share on Facebook May 29, 2007 CommentGolf great Tiger Woods jetted into Washington today to promote his upcoming AT&T National Invitational tournament as a potentially "historic" event meant to honor service members and their families. The tourney, to be held through the week of Independence Day at suburban Maryland's Congressional Country Club, promises to be a classic Washington event, mixing celebrities and politicians with athletes and thousands of military personnel, who can attend for free.
Woods's education foundation will be the beneficiary. The patriotic emphasis is unusually pointed for a professional sporting event, but Woods did not hesitate to play it up big at a news conference.
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Obama Gets Headstart from Facebook-insider on Staff
Tweet Share on Facebook May 29, 2007 CommentThe popular social networking website Facebook.com unveiled a major new initiative to boost its traffic and membership last weekend with the "Applications" feature, in which members can add functionality to their profiles, like music and movie players, that are programmed and offered by third parties.
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign hit the ground running, offering a feed of news and video that Obama's supporters can add to their page. As of 4 p.m. today, 6,778 people had signed up.
Obama is the only candidate to have taken advantage of this new functionality so far, but more are sure to come as the other catch on. The Illinois senator had a major advantage on this front in the form of staffer Chris Hughes, a cofounder of Facebook who still servers as a consultant for the site. The actual coding for the feature was done by two volunteers, Hughes told News Desk today.
"We've seen our traffic steadily increase daily" since the function launched, Hughes said. "We're all pretty happy with how it's been doing."
While the increased visibility doesn't hurt, Hughes said an equally important aspect in leveraging social networks for political support is the ability to give supporters online tools to promote the candidate more easily.
First up: Reminding people which of their friends live in Iowa, New Hampshire, and other states where they could use a little nudging to get out and vote.
--Chris Wilson