The State Department will not renew Blackwater Worldwide's contract to protect American diplomats in Iraq when it expires in May, a senior U.S. official said Friday.
The official told The Associated Press that the contract will expire because of the Iraqi government's decision to deny Blackwater a license to operate. The Iraqis informed the State Department last week of the cancellation, which was made amid lingering outrage over a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead.
"The Blackwater contract for Iraq will not be renewed," the official said, adding, however, that it was "basically a moot point because they were not going to be allowed to operate in Iraq anyway."
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has yet to be announced.
WASHINGTON - The Republican Party chose the first black national chairman in its history Friday, just shy of three months after the nation elected a Democrat as the first African-American president.
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama signed a series of executive orders Friday that he said should "level the playing field" for labor unions in their struggles with management. Obama also used the occasion at the White House to announce formally a new White House task force on the problems of middle-class Americans. He named Vice President Joe Biden as its chairman
WASHINGTON - The State Department will not renew Blackwater Worldwide's contract to protect American diplomats in Iraq when it expires in May, a senior U.S. official said Friday. The official told The Associated Press that the contract will lapse because of the Iraqi government's decision to deny Blackwater a license to operate.
Jan. 27: Embattled Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich explains to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that in spite of his political stunts and media tour he's not confident of the outcome of his trial in the Illinois Senate - though unlike Richard Nixon, he wants all of his tapes to be made public.
CHICAGO - With Gov. Rod Blagojevich entering what could be his final hours in office, some politicians are watching closely to see whether he attempts some last-minute mischief by spending state money, issuing executive orders or granting pardons.
"I try never to be surprised anymore by anything he does," said Republican former Gov. Jim Edgar.
The Illinois Senate could vote as early as Thursday on whether to remove the governor by impeachment on charges that include trying to sell Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat for campaign cash or a plum job for himself.
For Bill O’Reilly, the “radical left” is taking advantage of “Judas” Scott McClellan. And what is the far left, according to O’Reilly? MSNBC, the corporate media empire jointly owned by Microsoft and NBC, the latter owned by General Electric, the death merchant that donated $1.1 million to Bush for his 2000 election campaign, that is to say the neocon coup. http://www.infowars.com/?p=2429
Bill W. already posted about Conyers’ statement that he is committed to getting Rove to testify in the Don Siegelman case, even if it means having him arrested. However, this segment from MSNBC’s Verdict, where Catherine Crier explains to host Dan Abrams the process and the seriousness of an Inherent Contempt of Congress charge is was too good not to use, so I asked Heather to make the video for me. Besides, it’s small and petty of me, but I don’t think you can hear “haul Karl Rove to jail” too many times.
Cindy McCain on husband’s ‘non-negative campaign’ Cindy McCain told Ann Curry that an Obama-McCain presidential race would not be negative. However, Sen. John McCain has already run a smear ad in North Carolina against Obama and his campaign has also implied that the Hamas favors Obama for president.
McCain’s pastor problems Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson discusses Sen. John McCain’s endorsement from controversial pastor John Hagee. When will McCain reject it.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday that the most important thing he could achieve as president would be to deal with Iraq and the threat of al Qaeda in Afghanistan while improving "our influence around the world."
Sen. Barack Obama, in his first interview since the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, speaks with Wolf Blitzer.
In his first interview since the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Obama said he thinks the United States' influence around the world has been diminishing.
"The world wants to see the United States lead. They've been disappointed and disillusioned over the last seven, eight years," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an interview on "The Situation Room."
"I think there is still a sense everywhere I go that if the United States regains its sense of who it is and our values and our ideals, that we will continue to set the tone for a more peaceful and prosperous world." Watch the full interview with Obama »
In an exclusive interview, Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, talks with TODAY's Ann Curry about his run for president.
“My husband and I have been married 28 years,” Mrs. McCain said. “And we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate. I am not the candidate.”
McCain’s Big Idea: Create A Human Trafficking Task Force (That Already Exists) http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/07/mccain-trafficking-taskforce/
In Rochester, Michigan earlier this morning, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) delivered a speech outlining his “vision for defending the freedom and dignity of the world’s vulnerable.” During the speech, McCain noted that “the State Department estimates that between 15,000 and 18,000 human slaves are brought into the United States, many of whom are forced into the sex trade every year.” VLOGZ TV :
Mary Tillman: ‘Pat’s death was a lie to the country’ By The Raw Story
NBC’s Meredith Vieira talked with Mary Tillman about her new book “Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman.” Mary Tillman’s son, Pat Tillman, was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire. She believes the truth of her son’s death was covered up.
This video is from NBC’s Today Show, broadcast May 7, 2008.
In his first interview since the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Obama said he thinks the United States' influence around the world has been diminishing. 
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