* House Republicans elect Ohio Rep. John Boehner as majority leader, signaling break from status quo. Boehner: "The members wanted to make a big decision, and they did. . . We must act swiftly to restore the trust between Congress and the American people." [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT, WT, W$J]

* Election of Boehner heralds his comeback and shows a "cry of concern by an entrenched Republican majority"; Boehner "tapped into members' election-year anxieties about the GOP's scandal-scuffed leadership." [WP, WP, NYT]

* Administration seeks $120b for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. [WP, NYT, USAT]

* Democrats attack Republican rhetoric at hearing on security threats; insist on more oversight. Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.V.): "I am deeply troubled by what I see as the administration's continued effort to selectively release intelligence information that supports its policy or political agenda while withholding equally pertinent information that does not do that." [WP, WP, NYT, USAT, WT]

* White House requests additional $18b for Gulf Coast reconstruction, but officials and lawmakers are skeptical. [NYT]

* Senate, by vote of 66 to 31, approves $70b in tax cuts over five years. [WP]

* Bush presses for permanent corporate tax breaks to encourage innovation. [NYT, WP]

* Lewis Libby has defense fund of over $2m. [NYT]

* Energy researchers are squeezed out between differing goals of the White House and Congress. [NYT]