Daily Briefing: Turd Referendum

• Karl Roveis "just eight days from having his genius designation revoked -- or upgraded to platinum status." [ WP , LAT ]

• US Military has "misplaced" about 14,000 automatic weapons somewhere in Iraq. [ NYT ]

• New crop of centrist Democrats, including former Redskin flopHeath Shuler, may help retake Congress, only to do battle with more liberal elements of the party. [ NYT ]

• It's not just global warming: Bush administration officials overrule scientists' recommendations to protect species facing extinction, such as the very cute Gunnison sage grouse. [ WP ]

• Nancy Pelosiis financing the Democratic ascendancy one garden party at a time. [ NYT ]

• "A host of sleeper social issues, including abortion, same-sex marriage and stem-cell research will keep campaign 2006 interesting to the end." [ Newsweek ]

• Heavy hitters on human rights weigh in against North Korea's abuses. [ NYT ]