Daily Briefing: 'Hang A Crepe Over It'

* Administration requests $72.4b for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan plus $19.8b for the Gulf Coast. [ NYT , W$J , WT ]

* Senate, under pressure from the administration, will not investigate NSA eavesdropping; House inquiry moves forward. [ WP , NYT , LAT ]

*Bushhas no problem with handling ofCheney's hunting accident: "This is a man who likes the outdoors, and he likes to hunt. . . I'm satisfied with the explanation he gave." [ NYT , USAT ]

* Texas police close their investigation of hunting accident without making criminal charges. [ WP ]

* Sen.Arlen Specter(R-Pa.) denies wrongdoing in new lobbying scandal but asks for ethics investigation. [ WP , NYT , USAT ]

* IsCheneymore of a liability for Republicans than an asset? [ W$J ]

* Sen.Pat Roberts(R-Kan.) wants to toughen rules on leaking. [ WP ]

* Rep.Christopher Shays(R-Conn.) is leading the effort to protect whistle-blowers: "It's absolutely essential that we have a system that allows people to speak out about abuses, especially in the national security realm." [ NYT ]

* Democrats want to removeGonzalesfrom Justice Department investigation of lobbying. [ WT ]

* House Republicans block effort by Rep.Nancy Pelosito start ethics investigation of budget bill. [ NYT ]

* Filibuster of Patriot Act ends. [ WT ]

*Rumsfeldresponds to Rep.John Murtha(D-Pa.): "The idea that you should paint a picture and hang crepe over it, that everything's horrible in Iraq, is not true." [ WT ]

* Since 1990, Democrats have received $53m from lobbyists while Republicans have collected $48m. [ WT ]

* Immigration issue could undermine Republican popularity in Florida. [ WP ]