Froomkin has a 5 page article up at the WP. Go read it, you’ll be glad you did.

An excerpt:

It’s true that the Constitution grants the president unlimited clemency and pardon power. But presidents have generally used that power to show mercy or, in rare cases, make political amends — not to protect themselves from exposure.

The Framers, ever sensitive to the need for checks and balances, recognized the potential for abuse of the pardon power. According to a Judiciary Committee report drafted in the aftermath of the Watergate crisis: “In the [Constitutional] convention George Mason argued that the President might use his pardoning power to ‘pardon crimes which were advised by himself’ or, before indictment or conviction, ‘to stop inquiry and prevent detection.’ James Madison responded:

“[I]f the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds [to] believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty. . . .

“Madison went on to [say] contrary to his position in the Philadelphia convention, that the President could be suspended when suspected, and his powers would devolve on the Vice President, who could likewise be suspended until impeached and convicted, if he were also suspected.”

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By SARAH EL DEEB
Associated Press Writer

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - British reporter Alan Johnston, looking pale and tired, was released Wednesday after nearly four months in captivity in the Gaza Strip and said it was “fantastic” to be free after an “appalling” ordeal.

The British Broadcasting Corp. correspondent described his time in captivity as “occasionally quite terrifying” in a telephone interview with the BBC. “It was an appalling experience,” he said, speaking from the home of deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza.

“It is indescribably good to be out,” he said in a steady and composed voice. “It is just the most fantastic thing to be free,” he added, saying he felt as well as could be expected.

“I didn’t know where it was going to end,” he said, adding that he had endured “an extraordinary level of stress” and psychological pressure. “I probably got out if it as well as I could have.”

Johnston was kidnapped by a shadowy, little-known group from a Gaza City street on March 12 and held far longer than any other foreign reporter in Gaza.

After his release, he was taken to the home of Haniyeh in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp. Before entering, Johnston told an Associated Press reporter, “I’m OK, really, I’m OK.”

Television footage showed Johnston emerging from a building in Gaza surrounded by a throng of armed Palestinian men and escorted into a waiting car while cameras flashed around him.

Simon Wilson, the BBC’s Middle East bureau chief, speaking to BBC News 24 from Jerusalem, said he had spoken to Johnston following his release. “His first thoughts were for others and for what they’ve done for him.”

read more at YAHOO! NEWS

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Jimi Hendrix
Star Spangled Banner

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Keith Olbermann’s special comment regarding the commuting of Libby’s sentence.

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By ALEXANDRU ALEXE
Associated Press Writer

BUCHAREST, Romania — An heir of Romania’s former royal family put “Dracula’s Castle” in Transylvania up for sale Monday, hoping to secure a buyer who will respect “the property and its history,” a U.S.-based investment company said.

The Bran Castle, perched on a cliff near Brasov in mountainous central Romania, is a top tourist attraction because of its ties to Prince Vlad the Impaler, the warlord whose cruelty inspired Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, “Dracula.”

Legend has it that Vlad, who earned his nickname because of the way he tortured his enemies, spent one night in the 1400s at the castle.

Bran Castle was built in the 14th century to serve as a fortress to protect against the invading Ottoman Turks. The royal family moved into the castle in the 1920s, living there until the communist regime confiscated it from Princess Ileana in 1948.

After being restored in the late 1980s and following the end of communist rule in Romania, it gained popularity as a tourist attraction known as “Dracula’s Castle.”

More at the Sun Sentinel

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By BRUCE SMITH
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Hundreds of dead seabirds washing up along the Southeast coast in recent weeks apparently starved to death, but experts don’t know why.

The deaths of the birds _ similar to gulls and called greater shearwaters _ have wildlife officials worried about possible changes in the ocean that could have affected the fish that the birds usually eat.

“It’s got a lot of folks talking and wondering,” said Jennifer Koches, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Is this a canary in the coal mine issue? Is there something that serious going on out in the ocean that it should be causing us serious alarm?”

An estimated 1,000 of the dead birds have been found from the Bahamas to South Florida and north to the Carolinas, said Craig Watson, a wildlife biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service.

About 160 have been found along the South Carolina coast from Hilton Head to Murrells Inlet.

More at the Sun Sentinel

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I have to say, the press corp did a good job today. Ed Henry was on Snow like white on rice.

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David Shuster report on Hardball covers Tony Snow’s press conference today. You know, say what you will about BushCo…they are good at what they do. They do whatever they want and there’s no consequences. Bush commutes Libby’s sentence so he won’t be tempted to sing while in prison, and now he’ll pardon him completely down the road. And there will be no consequences for any of them. A CIA agent is outed. Treason is committed. Perjury is committed……and there will be no consequences. These guys are good. Criminals who know how to do the crime and get no time. The Corleones got nothin on these guys.

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By Maggie Fox
Reuters Health and Science Editor

The U.S. tuberculosis patient who set off international alarms after fleeing across borders does not have the most dangerous form of TB but instead a strain that is easier to treat, his doctors said on Tuesday.

They said Andrew Speaker, a 31-year-old lawyer, has multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis, known as MDR TB — and not a form of the disease known as extensively drug-resistant, or XDR.

“It allows us to change the way we treat him. We have put surgery on hold for the time being,” Dr. Charles Daley of National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver said at a news conference. “We can use drugs not originally available.”

Nonetheless, Daley said Speaker has a serious condition and it is important to track down anyone he may have infected.

“It is fatal,” he said. “MDR TB is very difficult to treat. The cure rate is nowhere near what we would expect with just standard TB therapy.”

Dr. Mitchell Cohen of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is not clear why one CDC test indicated Speaker had XDR TB.

read more at REUTERS

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By Roger Yu
USA TODAY

Hilton Hotels said late Tuesday that it agreed to be bought by The Blackstone Group, a private equity fund, for about $26 billion in cash.

Blackstone will buy all the outstanding common stock of Hilton for $47.50 per share, which is about 32% over Tuesday’s closing price. Hilton’s shares ended $2.18 higher on Tuesday, more than 6%, at $36.05.

“Our board of directors concluded that this transaction provides compelling value for our shareholders with a significant premium,” said Stephen Bollenbach, Hilton’s co-chairman and CEO, in a statement.

In a statement, Hilton said it expects the transaction will close during the fourth quarter of 2007, subject to the approval of Hilton’s shareholders.

Blackstone is well-versed in hotel deals. It currently owns more than 100,000 hotel rooms in the USA and Europe, ranging from limited service chains such as La Quinta Inns and Suites to LXR Luxury Resorts and Hotels that includes high-end properties like The Boulders Resort and Spa in Arizona and The El Conquistador Resort in Puerto Rico.

Other than its flag chain, Hilton Hotels also Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations and Homewood Suites by Hilton and The Waldorf Astoria Collection.

Beverly Hills-based Hilton owns 2,800 hotels - 480,000 rooms - worldwide.

Blackstone said it “intends to invest in the Hilton properties and brands globally to enhance and grow the business for the benefit of owners, franchisees and customers.”

Blackstone has invested about $1 billion in to renovate its LXR properties in the last three years. It has grown the La Quinta brand by about 45% since its acquisition in January 2006.

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from United Press International

CHICAGO, (UPI) — A new study shows seniors who have trouble identifying scents are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than people who knew soap smell from cinnamon.

They also were at higher risk of mild cognitive impairment, a condition that often strikes before Alzheimer’s, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Tuesday.

Researchers followed 589 Chicago-area people who were an average age of 80 and began the study with no cognitive impairments.

The odors volunteers were asked to identify were banana, onion, soap, cinnamon, lemon, black pepper, smoke, paint thinner, pineapple, gasoline, rose and chocolate.

Test subjects who got four out of 12 wrong were 50 percent more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than those who got only one wrong.

Although there is no way to prevent Alzheimer’s, there are several drugs in development that might be able to slow the progression of the disease if it is detected early enough, which is one reason why scientists are looking into ways to test who is at risk for the illness.

The Rush University Medical Center study is published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

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WHEAT RIDGE, Colo., July 3 (UPI) — A Colorado family’s stolen SUV may still be missing, but they have their beloved golden retriever back.

Jim Seeton of Windsor told the Rocky Mountain News that he got a call from police on Monday.

“They said, ‘I think we got him.’ I asked ‘Is he overweight?’ Yep, that’s our dog,” he said.

The dog, 6-year-old Ute, went missing on Saturday. Seeton and his two sons were on their way to Buena Vista for a vacation when they stopped at a gas station in Wheat Ridge, just west of Denver.

Seeton left his Lexus running with the key in the ignition while he went to look for his sons. Wheat Ridge police spotted the vehicle about an hour later but were unable to halt it.

Ute, the retriever, turned up in a park in nearby Arvada.

The dog ended up at the Wheat Ridge police department when one of the people who found him recognized him from a news photo about the vehicle theft and dog-napping.

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I’ve seen so many of these “hack” attention whores who actually try to get themselves in trouble for publicity. It’s idiotic and one days, if it hasn’t happened already, one of these morons is going to get killed. - JS

Radio fireworks stunt snuffed out
TAMPA, Fla. (UPI) — Police and fire crews stopped an early-morning stunt by a Tampa, Florida radio personality after a listener called 911.

The crew of the MJ Morning Show planned to place dozens of fireworks into a hot oven in the parking lot of the studio at the Clear Channel Broadcast Center, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Tuesday. But Tampa fire crews and police swarmed the parking lot, stopping the stunt before it began.

According to the show’s Web site, Clear Channel management also ordered the event canceled.

When asked if the event was a legitimate public service, MJ, whose real name is Todd Schnitt, said, “Oh absolutely. It’s about fireworks safety.”

“I don’t know what their goal was,” said Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Bill Wade. “But the bottom line is that Tampa municipal code states that if you are going to do a public display of fireworks within the city limits, you have to have a permit.”

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IRAQ CABINET BACKS DRAFT OIL LAW

TERROR TERROR TERROR

CLARK GRISWALD’S ERRRRRR ROMNEY’S WIFE DEFENDS DOG ON ROOF

LIBBY WAS THE SMALL FISH

VIOLENCE IN PAKISTANI CAPITAL

NOAA NOW HARASSING PROENZA (IN MY OPINION)

SHOPPERS STEP OVER DYING STABBING VICTIM

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE? REACH FOR THE DARK CHOCOLATE!

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The data breaches just go on and on and on……….

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Fidelity National Information Services, a financial processing company, said Tuesday a worker at one of its subsidiaries stole 2.3 million consumer records containing credit card, bank account and other personal information.

The employee sold the information to an unidentified data broker who sold it to several direct marketing companies, but the data were not used in identity theft or other fraudulent financial activity, Fidelity said in a statement.

About 2.2 million records stolen from Certegy Check Services Inc. contained bank account information and 99,000 contained credit card information, Fidelity said.

More at MSNBC

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