• Leahy, Baucus, Johnson will support Roberts; Kerry, Kennedy, Corzine, Boxer, Reid will vote no. [NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Bush multitasks over second Supreme Court nomination, hurricanes, Iraq, and Social Security; talks of Katrina and terrorists, “They’re the kind of people who look at Katrina and wish they had caused it. We’re in a war against these people.” [NYT, USAT]
• Republicans propose spending cuts as Congress passes $6b in Katrina-related tax breaks. [WSJ, WP, USAT]
• Next Supreme Court nominee will face heightened scrutiny. [WP]
• House Republicans will pursue inquiry of government’s response to Katrina in spite of boycott by Democrats. [WP, NYT]

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• House will pass $10.5b relief package for the Gulf Coast; officials on the ground complain about the administration’s response. Head of emergency management in New Orleans: “This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace. . . We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can’t bail out the city of New Orleans.” [WP, WP, USAT]
• Experts blame “late evacuation order and insufficient emergency shelter.” New Orleans Police Superintendent: “We’re in our fifth day and adequate help to quell the situation has not arrived yet.” [NYT, WP, WT]
• Katrina shows government was unprepared for energy crisis. Bush: “Americans should be prudent in their use of energy. Don’t buy gas if you don’t need it.” [WSJ, WP]
• Democrats say Bush’s decision to underfund levee fortification left New Orleans vulnerable. McClellan: “Flood control has been a priority of this administration from Day One. This is not a time for finger-pointing or playing politics.” [WP, NYT]
• Al Qaeda takes credit for London bombings in video broadcast by Al Jazeera; group vows more attacks will come. Suspected bomber: “We are at war, and I am a soldier and now you too will taste the reality of this situation.” [NYT, WP]
• Gas prices top $6 a gallon in some areas. [USAT]

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• Files show Roberts tried to “shield” President Reagan and his administration from legal troubles, “political blunders and public relations missteps.” In 1985, Roberts advised on AIDS: “I do not think we should have the president taking a position on a disputed scientific issue of this sort.” [NYT, LAT]
• Roberts disapproved expansion of women’s rights by the Reagan administration and questioned legal challenges to the “purported gender gap.” [WP, LAT]
• Shaffer says claims about Able Danger are from two associates, not his own memory. [WP]
• “The Democrats aren’t scoring points in terms of landing any significant punches on Bush or in terms of saying anything meaningful to the American people,” says Zogby. [WT]
• Sheehan leaves Crawford to visit her hospitalized mother; expects to return to ranch soon. [NYT]
• Roberts supported national identification cards in 1983; argued cards would “not suddenly mean constitutional protections would evaporate.” [WSJ, USAT]

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