Daily Briefing: The Thrills of Mongolia

• Michael Scanlon, partner toJack Abramoff, pleads guilty to conspiring to bribe a lawmaker and other officials as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. [ WP , NYT , WSJ , LAT ]

• Cheneyat the AEI: "Any suggestion that prewar information was distorted, hyped, fabricated by the leader of the nation is utterly false."William Kristol: "His numbers have dropped and he is probably not the best messenger to independents and swing voters, but in terms of managing an argument, he is good at it and his style lends itself to it." [ WP , NYT , LAT , WT , USAT ]

• Cheneymanaged to celebrate "debate and criticism while declaring that a key element of that debate -- whether the administration exaggerated prewar intelligence about Iraq -- is off-limits." [ WP ]

•Mongolia thrillsBush: "I'm here on an important international mission. SecretaryRumsfeldasked me to check on his horse." [ NYT , WSJ, ,  USAT ]

•Adminstration relaxes some No Child Left Behind rules. [ WP ]

•Sen.Joe Biden(D-Del.) saysBush"has to abandon his grandiose goals" for the Middle East. [ WP ]

•Senate's tax bill designed to encourage charitable giving. [ NYT , WSJ ]

•Pennsylvania residents appreciate Rep.John Murtha's sincerity but have qualms about his views. [ WP , NYT ]

• Hugo Chavezwill offer price breaks on heating oil for some low-income residents of Massachusetts and New York. [ WP ]

•ACLU files federal suit on behalf of two people who were removed from aBushevent because of an antiwar bumper sticker. [ NYT ]