Daily Briefing: Couldn't Care Less
•Tape fromOsama bin Ladensurfaces, his first since December 2004: "[Al Qaeda] operations are under preparation and you will see them in your homes the minute they are ready." [ WP , NYT , USAT , WT ]
•Independent counsel is unable "to say with certainty whether any criminal laws were broken" byHenry Cisneros, but there was "a coverup at high levels of our government." [ WP , USAT , WT ]
•Justice Department analysis supports the legality of warrentless eavesdropping. [ WP , NYT ]
• Bushpreviews State of the Union message: "The best way to solve the deficit is to grow the economy, not run up your taxes." [ USAT , WT ]
•Most Americans "could not care less" about the lobbying scandal; corruption is seen as bipartisan. [ WP ]
•Liberal group calls for Justice Department investigation of Rep.Jerry Lewis(R-Calif) regarding hedge fund donations. [ USAT ]
•Additional Democratic senators --includingLeahyandSalazar-- announce their intention to opposeSamuel Alito. [ WP ]
•Republican National Committee set to break withBushover immigration. [ LAT ]
•Sen.Hillary Clinton(D-N.Y.): "I believe we lost critical time in dealing with Iran because the White House chose to downplay the threats and to outsource the negotiations. I don't believe you face threats like Iran or North Korea by outsourcing it to others and standing on the sidelines." [ WP ]
•Sen.Harry Reid(D-Nev.) apologizes for harshness of press release that personalized the GOP "culture of corruption." [ WP , NYT ]
•Virginia Gov.Tim Kainewill give the Democratic rebuttal to the State of the Union address. [ WP ]
• John Walker Lindh's father asks for clemency fromBush: "In simple terms, this is the story of a decent and honorable young man embarked on a spiritual quest." [ NYT ]
• Laura Bushwill never run for the Senate,Bushsays. [ NYT ]