BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister warned gunmen in the oil port of Basra to surrender their weapons by Friday or face harsher measures, as clashes between security forces and Shiite militia fighters spread throughout the south and in Baghdad. Despite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s ultimatum Wednesday, government troops in Basra were having trouble making inroads into neighborhoods that the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army has controlled for years. Residents spoke of militiamen using mortar shells, sniper fire, roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades to fight off security forces. A Pentagon official said reports from the Basra area indicate that […]

Dear Jonathan, John McCain is breaking the law. When McCain’s presidential campaign was in trouble, he opted-in to public financing through the primary, limiting him to a $54 million spending cap. But laws aren’t for “mavericks”… McCain’s latest spending report, filed by his own campaign, shows he has spent in excess of $58 million so far — a public admission by his own hand that he has broken the law. We filed a formal complaint to Federal Election Commission yesterday, and we want you to sign-on for a second delivery of signatures later this week. View the signers and add […]

A STATEMENT CONCERNING THE REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT The Reverend Jeremiah Wright is an outstanding church leader whom I have heard speak a number of times. He has served for decades as a profound voice for justice and inclusion in our society. He has been a vocal critic of the racism, sexism and homophobia which still tarnish the American dream. To evaluate his dynamic ministry on the basis of two or three sound bites does a grave injustice to Dr. Wright, the members of his congregation, and the African-American church which has been the spiritual refuge of a people that has […]

This is from an Obama campaign press release that went out today: “Senator Clinton recently claimed that she’s ‘the most transparent figure in public life,’ yet she’s dragging her feet in releasing something as basic as her annual tax returns,” said Obama Communications Director Robert Gibbs. “Senator Clinton can’t claim to be vetted until she allows the public the opportunity to see her finances — particularly with respect to any investment in tax shelters.” The Clinton campaign’s vague commitment to release the returns and the Clintons’ known involvement with such investments as Yucaipa raise a number of questions. 1. Yucaipa […]

[mosaic by NICO PITNEY/HUFFINGTON POST] INDEPENDENT: The number of US troops who have died in Iraq since the invasion five years ago has hit the 4,000 milestone following a roadside bomb in south Baghdad that killed four American soldiers. US military fatalities are half those suffered by the Iraqi army and police, of whom 8,037 are known to have been killed. American losses are even more limited compared to Iraqi civilian casualties, which are unknown but are likely to total several hundred thousand. But in the US it is the number of American soldiers killed which is politically important because […]

How to register Monday is the last day to register to vote in Pennsylvania’s April 22 primary. Only voters registered with a party can vote in that party’s primary. Individuals may register at a county voter registration office or at other designated sites.For information, call 1-877-868-3772 or go to www.votespa.com. The site, from the Pennsylvania Department of State, includes a registration form for downloading. [via the PHILLY.COM]

NICHOLAS KRISTOF: The improvement is real but fragile and limited. Here’s what it amounts to: We’ve cut our casualty rates to the unacceptable levels that plagued us back in 2005, and we still don’t have any exit plan for years to come — all for a bill that is accumulating at the rate of almost $5,000 every second! Granted, the cost estimates are squishy and controversial, partly because the $12.5 billion a month that we’re now paying for Iraq is only a down payment. We’ll still be making disability payments to Iraq war veterans 50 years from now. Professor Stiglitz […]