BUSH, BLAIR ACKNOWLEDGE "MAJOR MISJUDGMENTS" IN JOINT PRESSER: President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, two leaders badly weakened by the continuing violence in Iraq, acknowledged major misjudgments in the execution of the Iraq war on Thursday night even while insisting that the election of a constitutional government in Baghdad justified their decision to go to war three years ago. Speaking in subdued, almost chastened, tones at a joint news conference in the East Room, the two leaders steadfastly refused to talk about a schedule for pulling troops out of Iraq -- a pressure both men are feeling intently. New York Times: Bush and Blair Concede Errors, but Defend War

"BRING 'EM ON" SENT THE "WRONG SIGNAL": Asked what "missteps and mistakes" he regretted the most, Bush responded with uncharacteristic reflection, citing his July 2003 admonition to Iraqi insurgents to "bring 'em on," and his declaration shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that the U.S. wanted Osama bin Laden "dead or alive." "Kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people," Bush said. "I learned some lessons about expressing myself, maybe in a more sophisticated manner... I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted." Bush went on to say the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by American guards at the Abu Ghraib prison was the "biggest mistake that's happened so far." San Francisco Chronicle: Bush says he regrets 'tough talk'

SENATE PASSES IMMIGRATION BILL: The Senate yesterday approved legislation that would trigger the biggest changes to U.S. immigration policy in decades, by strengthening border security, establishing a guest-worker program, and providing the means for millions of illegal immigrants to stay in the country and possibly become citizens. The product of a tenuous bipartisan coalition that faced tough conservative opposition, the measure calls for 370 miles of triple-layer fencing along the Mexican border, a complicated three-tiered system for determining who can stay and who must leave the country, and more jail cells for those awaiting deportation... But even as the Senate approved the bill 62 to 36, the measure's backers acknowledged that it faces formidable opposition in the House. Washington Post: Senate Approves Immigration Bill

JEFFERSON FILES SEALED FOR 45 DAYS: President Bush intervened directly Thursday in an increasingly tense constitutional fight between Congress and the Justice Department by ordering that records seized from a Congressional office over the weekend be sealed for 45 days. "Our government has not faced such a dilemma in more than two centuries," Mr. Bush said in his first statement on the swirl of events surrounding the Federal Bureau of Investigation's search of the office of Representative William J. Jefferson, Democrat of Louisiana, who has been accused of accepting bribes. "Yet after days of discussions, it is clear these differences will require more time to be worked out." New York Times: To Ease Standoff, Bush Seals Seized Files

"AMUSEMENT HARDENED BY EXPERIENCE" IN NOLA: Rep. William J. Jefferson has long provided one of Louisiana's favorite success stories: the sometime-sharecropper's son who rose from rural roots to attend Harvard Law School, become a Democratic Party power player and reach the halls of Congress. So when the FBI revealed that it had videotape of Jefferson accepting $100,000 in cash that the bureau said was intended to bribe a Nigerian official -- and that $90,000 of it had been found in the freezer of Jefferson's home -- constituents of Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District reacted with shock, disappointment and a touch of amusement hardened by experience. Los Angeles Times: Cash-in-Freezer Probe a Hot Topic in New Orleans

HASTERT CATCHES HEAT FROM THE RIGHT OVER JEFFERSON DEFENSE: Conservatives yesterday expressed confusion and outrage over House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert's defense of a Democratic congressman whose Capitol Hill office was raided last weekend by the FBI. "Only thing I can figure is that Denny got up one morning and said, 'Our approval with the public is at 27 percent -- how can I drive that down further?'" said former Rep. Bob Barr, Georgia Republican... Radio host Rush Limbaugh yesterday told his millions of listeners that the Hastert-Pelosi alliance shows the GOP has become "politically tone-deaf," while a Louisiana senator [David Vitter] was the only elected Republican in Washington to criticize the defense of congressional privilege by Mr. Hastert, [an] Illinois Republican. Washington Times: Hastert slammed for raid reaction

VA CHIEF "MAD AS HELL": It will cost at least $10 million to inform veterans that their personal information may be in the hands of criminals, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson told Congress on Thursday. He warned that the ultimate price tag of the government's response could be tens of millions more... When asked for an estimate, Nicholson tossed out the figure of $100 million - or more... There's no indication the data are being used for criminal purposes, and Nicholson and George Opfer, the agency's inspector general, say they believe the theft was random. Still, Nicholson told lawmakers, he's "mad as hell" at the employee. USA Today: Cost to tell veterans of data theft starts at $10M

IG FOUND OUT THROUGH OFFICE GOSSIP: The theft of personal data for 26.5 million veterans came to the attention of the Veterans Affairs inspector general only through office gossip, he told Congress Thursday. In four hours of testimony, IG George Opfer said the department failed to heed years of warnings about lax security and noted that the employee who lost the data when his house was burglarized had been improperly taking the material home for three years. "We were on borrowed time," Opfer told Senate and House panels investigating the breach. AP via Yahoo! News: VA breach discovered through office gossip

JOHN SNOW RESIGNING: Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, who has presided during a period of strong economic growth but at times seemed out of sync with President Bush, has informed the White House that he will resign in the coming days after three years as the nation's chief economic officer, a source close to Snow said yesterday. Snow asked the White House to announce his resignation in early June and said he plans to stay in the job no later than July 3 while a replacement is sought, the source said. The secretary's decision was intended to bring finality to a process that has played out awkwardly in public over months as Snow's job security has been a regular source of Washington speculation. Washington Post: Treasury Secretary to Step Down

ANWR VOTE "SYMBOLIC": The U.S. House voted Thursday to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but the move was primarily symbolic, since opponents in the Senate are certain to filibuster. The vote was 225-201. The debate preceding it came off like a play left too long on Broadway: entirely predictable and delivered with as much rehearsed passion as the players could summon. Pro-drilling lawmakers said the refuge could produce a significant amount of oil that would lessen our dependence on foreign sources. The opponents said America has to break its oil addiction because ANWR would do very little to satisfy demand. Anchorage Daily News: Pro-ANWR vote in House mostly for show

BUNNING TO BLOCK VOTE ON FEMA CHIEF: Angered over FEMA's flood insurance program, a senator said late Thursday he would block the nomination of R. David Paulison as the agency's chief in the latest hitch in the push for his approval before the start of the hurricane season. A spokesman for Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., said he will delay Paulison's confirmation until the Federal Emergency Management Agency develops a suitable appeals process for property owners whose flood insurance claims are rejected. FEMA administers the insurance program. Bunning spokesman Mike Reynard said the agency was supposed to establish an appeals process by December 2004. AP via Yahoo! News: Senate panel approves FEMA nominee

"FAR BETTER THAN AVERAGE CHANCE" CHENEY WILL TESTIFY IF CALLED: If a prosecutor calls him as a witness, Vice President Dick Cheney probably can't avoid testifying in his former chief of staff's perjury trial, legal experts said Thursday. "There may be significant issues of executive privilege and significant issues of classified information. But there are obviously significant factual issues that bear on the charges the prosecutor has brought" in the CIA leak investigation, said former federal prosecutor E. Lawrence Barcella Jr. "So there is a far better than average chance that you are going to see the vice president sitting in the witness chair" if he is summoned, Barcella said. AP via Yahoo! News: Experts say Cheney can't avoid testifying

MD GOV CANDIDATE WILL RETURN JACK $$$: Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan received $20,000 in political contributions from corporations he said were "related to or affiliated with" former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, at a time when the county was considering leasing a school to a Jewish organization Abramoff supported. Duncan said in a statement last night that he was unaware of the contributions he received seven years ago and was returning the money. Duncan, who is seeking the Maryland Democratic nomination for governor, issued the statement three hours after answering questions about the contributions from The Washington Post. Washington Post: Duncan to Return Abramoff-Tied Funds

OBAMA IN '08? Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) has brought on two nationally known Democratic consultants as advisers in recent weeks, prompting renewed speculation that the freshman senator may be considering a 2008 White House run. Anita Dunn, a partner with Squier Knapp Dunn, a media consulting company, and Minyon Moore, who is with the Dewey Square Group, are now serving as advisers to Obama. Dunn is working with Obama's leadership political action committee -- Hopefund -- through the end of the year... Moore is serving as an unpaid adviser to Obama, working to build an African American outreach program. Obama's office insists the moves have nothing to do with positioning him for a presidential race in 2008 or beyond. washingtonpost.com/The Fix: Obama Staff Move Prompts Renewed '08 Speculation

"UNDECIDED" IN NY: Most New York Republicans are just plain lost when it comes to picking their party's candidates for governor and U.S. Senate, a new poll shows. The Siena College survey found 22 percent of likely Republican primary voters backing former Assembly Minority Leader John Faso for governor, while 17 percent of GOP voters backed former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld. The greatest number, a whopping 61 percent, said they were undecided when it came to picking a candidate for governor. In the Senate race, only 21 percent of GOP voters backed former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer as their party's nominee, while 20 percent backed former Reagan-era Pentagon official Kathleen "KT" McFarland. The largest number, 59 percent, were undecided on a challenger to incumbent Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. New York Post: GOP Races are Dunno vs. Whozat

CONDI WEIGHS IN ON IDOL: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took time out from matters of war and peace to catch this week's finale of American Idol. Unlike many adults who claim they watch the show only because their kids commandeer the TV, Condi is an unabashed fan. Rice was rooting for fellow Birmingham native Taylor Hicks and will soon send him a congratulatory letter, says a State Department official. The Alabama connection helps explain why she has long been glued to the show: last year's runner-up Bo Bice is also a 'Bama boy, as was the winner of the second Idol competition, Ruben Studdard... According to the State Department official, Idol isn't the only junk food on Condi's TV diet. She also watches Law & Order and was a fan of The Bernie Mac Show before its cancellation. TIME: Taylor Hicks' Biggest Fan?

WAYNE GRETZKY'S WIFE MAY SUE NEW JERSEY: Janet Jones Gretzky and estranged NHL assistant coach Rick Tocchet say they've been forced to live under a cloud of suspicion after both were alleged to have links to an illegal sports-gambling ring in New Jersey... Tocchet and Janet Gretzky, who allegedly placed bets with the illegal sports-betting ring but has not been charged with any crime, filed legal notices May 8 that pave the way for them to sue law-enforcement authorities for defamation. In separate filings, both said they may file $50 million (U.S.) lawsuits against state police and New Jersey's Department of Law and Public Safety alleging the government agencies leaked information to the media about phone conversations intercepted by wiretaps. Toronto Star: Janet Gretzky moves to sue N.J. officials