Daily Briefing: What Would Gotti Do?

• Supreme Court, by 6 to 3 vote, rules against the administration and John Ashcroft to allow Oregon to practice physician-assisted suicide. [WP, NYT, NYT, W$J, USAT, WT]
• “High-level intelligence assessment” from early 2002 downplayed the likelihood of Niger providing uranium to Iraq. Admin official: “The president has said the intelligence was wrong, and we have reorganized our intelligence agencies so we can do better in the future.” [NYT]
• Jack Abramoff had a “few staff-level” White House meetings; officials are not releasing specifics. [USAT]
• Republicans outline their proposals to limit lobbying; some plans contain plenty of loopholes. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.): “It is like asking John Gotti to do what he can to clean up organized crime.” [WP, WP, NYT, NYT, W$J, USAT, WT]
• Kidnappers of American journalist in Iraq issue ultimatum: release all female prisoners in Iraq or she will be killed. [WP]
• Senators ready their inquiries of NSA eavesdropping; determining its legality will “prove tricky.” [W$J]

• New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin apologizes for suggesting that “God is mad at America” and the city will be a “chocolate city.” [WP]
• Scott McClellan criticizes Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) characterization that the House is “like a plantation”; White House flack says remarks were “way out of line” and “out of bounds.” [NYT]
• Sen. Clinton is avoiding Iowa and New Hampshire while quietly laying the foundation for a presidential run; “neither she nor her political advisers want to do anything that might suggest that she has ambitions beyond” New York. [NYT]
• Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) announces he will vote for Alito. [WT]
• Abramoff adds drama, uncertainty to Ralph Reed’s race. [USAT]
• Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) decides to seek a fourth term. [NYT]
• Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) quits all-male Harvard club. [WT]

READ MORE: 2006, 2008, SCOTUS, White House, bill nelson, harry reid, hillary clinton, intelligence, iraq, jack abramoff, john ashcroft, katrina, lobbying, new orleans, niger, ray nagin, samuel alito, scott mcclellan, ted kennedy, trent lott, uranium