Daily Briefing: 'Eerily Prescient Predictions'
•White House situation room received warnings from the Department of Homeland Security about Katrina's "likely impact, including eerily prescient predictions of breached levees, massive flooding, and major losses of life and property"; FEMA also had dire forecasts two days before the storm hit. [ WP , NYT ]
•Administration launches "blitz" campaign to gain ground on NSA eavesdropping controversy; officials roll out the phrase "terrorist surveillance program." [ WP , NYT , NYT , WT , USAT ]
•White House andJack Abramoffrefuse to release photographs of meetings withBush.McClellan: "Trying to say there's more to it than the president taking a picture in a photo line is just absurd." [ WP , NYT ]
•Supreme Court rules some advocacy ads may be exempt from campaign finance law. [ WP , NYT , USAT ]
• Bushspends 100 minutes fielding questions from crowd of 9,000 Kansas State University students; 61 instances of audience laughter. [ WP , NYT , USAT ]
•GOP dominance of congressional practices results in criticism of the structure and lobbying; Democrats shut out from negotiations. [ WP ]
• Bush's ballooning budgets bother fiscal conservatives. [ W$J ]
•Approval ofBushholds at 43% in Gallup Poll. [ USAT ]
•Tens of thousands participate in March for Life; optimism felt among pro-life movement. [ WP , WP , NYT ]