Top read: Dan Froomkin on the torture loophole and other hot topics. Seriously, go through the whole thing, thank me later.
Write your own punchline: "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says he's staying at the Justice Department to try to repair its broken image."
BAGnewsNotes on the hard fate awaiting Iraqis helping us in Iraq. The picture is particularly striking.
TUESDAY NEWSDAY:
* Military is planning to be in Iraq until at least 2009. Thanks Mr. President! Thanks Congress!
* Wait. Bush was politicizing the diplomatic corps? He had to go overseas to find new government agencies to infect? Wow.
* Can the military win the war on terror?
* Trickle-down effect: NY governor accused of using the state police for partisan purposes.
* Democratic debate coverage from Tom Shales and Howard Kurtz and BAGnewsNotes.
* New book on former Congressman Cunningham and the impressive depths of his corruption.
* Minimum wage goes up today, so, according to Republicans, the economy should be collapsing by nightfall.
* "Drinking as little as one can of soda a day - regular or diet - is associated with a 48% increased risk of metabolic syndrome, a key predecessor of heart disease and diabetes."
* Mastodon find in northern Greece.
* Drew Carey to take over as the new host of The Price is Right.
* Mohammad Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan, passed away.
"Virginia lawmakers imposed steep new fees on bad drivers this year despite warning signs from states with similar programs that they cause a surge in unlicensed motorists and have crippling effects on the poor."
Whew. The five nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death for infecting children with HIV in Libya were freed and arrived on foreign soil.