Three out of the four senators from Missouri and Kansas voted for the Iraq war funding bill Thursday night: Missouri's Kit Bond and Claire McCaskill, a Republican and Democrat, respectively, and Kansas Republican Pat Roberts.

   Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas was campaigning for president in Iowa and missed the vote.  A spokesman said he supported the bill.  It also included a $2.10 increase over the next two years in the federal minimum wage,  now $5.15 per hour. Raising the wage was a priority for the new Democratic Congress.

    Here's the roll call of the entire Senate.

    Missouri House members who backed the war funding bill were Republicans Todd Akin, Roy Blunt, Sam Graves and Kenny Hulshof.  Ike Skelton, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, was the only Democrat from Missouri to vote yes.

    Democrats Emanuel Cleaver, Lacy Clay and Russ Carnahan voted no.

    Republican Rep. Jo Ann Emerson missed the vote, but would have voted for it, according to aide Jeff Connor.

    Here's the entire House vote on the Iraq supplemental.

    Unlike the Senate, the House included the minimum wage increase and other domestic spending in a separate bill. That got unanimous support from every Missouri member present. Connor said Emerson would have supported that bill, too.

    The entire Kansas House delegation voted for both measures: Democrats Dennis Moore and Nancy Boyda, and Republicans Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran.

In The Star:

   Dave Helling reports that the Justice Department's Inspector General said it had investigated U.S. Attorney Todd Graves only once -- for allegedly making an improper campaign appearance. The statement reinforced Graves' assertion that he wasn't forced from office involving any probe of the fee office system.

   Joe Robertson reports that the KC School District says it won't rollback its tax rate despite soaring assessments.

   Mara Rose Williams and David Goldstein find mixed reactions on campuses to the idea of U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof becoming MU president.

   Tim Hoover examined a Missouri bill that prevents publication of the names of executioners. Press advocates say the bill tramples on First Amendment rights.

Elsewhere: Selections from The Hotline's "Wake-Up Call," ABC's The Note and others.

   Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama joined Chris Dodd as the Senate Democrats running for president who voted against the Iraq spending bill; Joe Biden voted for it. The Swamp says Clinton and Obama can now "compete on an equal footing" for the anti-war voters.

    In the House, Minority Leader John Boehner was sobbed uncontrollably as he talked about the Iraq bill..

  Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined many of her committee chairmen in voting against the bill.  The Washington Post points out that it was "a historical rarity: the passage of a bill opposed by the speaker of the House and a majority of the speaker's party."

   The Washington Post also got a peak of the two forthcoming Clinton books. In Carl Bernstein's, Hillary Clinton contemplated divorce and considered a run for governor of Arkansas "out of anger at her husband's indiscretions." But as first lady, she decided "not to be forthcoming with investigators because she was convinced she was unfairly targeted." The book by Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr.  has the Clintons formulating a "secret pact of ambition" that would have had his-and-hers, back-to-back eight-year terms as president, and has her overseeing the hiring of a private investigator to undermine Gennifer Flowers "until she is destroyed." "The book also suggests that Hillary Clinton did not read the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq in 2002 before voting to authorize war."

    As opponents from the right and left challenge an immigration bill before Congress, there is broad support among Americans — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike — for the major provisions in the legislation, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

   A Research 2000 poll of Kansas voters shows Clinton leading Obama 27 percent to 22 percent among Democratic likely voters. John Edwards places third with 21 percent. Among GOP likely voters, Sam Brownback defeats Mitt Romney 18 percent to 17% percent. In a general election, Brownback beats Clintion 57 percent to 30 percent.

    A "Special Comment" by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann about the Democrats' deal with President Bush on Iraq is drawings lots of attention. He calls it a betrayal by the entire government.

In The Star:

   Dave Helling wraps up the Monica Goodling testimony, focusing on the Todd Graves departure.

   Jim Sullinger reports that Kansas legislators want to launch a study on late-term abortions and whether Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller is breaking the law.

   The AP covered Gov. Matt Blunt's signing of the MoHELA bill.

   AP also has U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof saying he wants to be the next MU president.

   In his column, Steve Penn urges that Freedom Inc. regain its past glory.

Elsewhere: Selections from The Hotline's "Wake-Up Call," ABC's The Note and others.

   The New York Times reports that Democrats are bracing for mass defections on today's Iraq vote, with perhaps half of the caucus, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, voting against the measure. "The idea that many Democrats would be left on the losing side in a consequential vote has exposed a sharp divide within the party, drawn scorn from antiwar groups, confused the public and frustrated the party rank and file," the story says.

   The Note asks whether Democrats knew it was going to be bad, but did Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid misjudge this one? "It's what the Republicans wanted,"  California Democratic Rep. Lynn Woolsey told The Politico.

   Dana Milbank writes about the latest "Monica Problem" in The Washington Post: "In a full day of testimony, she accused the No. 2 Justice official of giving false testimony to Congress, implied that Gonzales himself had improperly tried to influence her testimony, and generally described Gonzales' Justice Department as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican National Committee."

   New Mexico Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson is opposing the immigration bill, putting him "in agreement with a key segment of his party, including many Hispanic voters, that want more focus on reuniting families," The New York Times reports. He's the first major Democratic candidate to flat-out oppose the bill in its current form.

   Rudy Giuliani accused John Edwards "of being dangerously in denial about the dangers of global extremism."  

   The leaked memo suggesting that Sen. Hillary Clinton skip the Iowa caucuses because she couldn't win "suggested a lack of unanimity" in Clinton's camp, the Des Moines Register says. The campaign "prides itself on being airtight" so any lapse "is viewed as evidence of an internal power struggle," The Washington Post contends.

   In his book, Bob Shrum says John Kerry "wished that he'd never picked" John Edwards as his veep, New York Post reports.The Washington Post points out that Shrum writes that Edwards once said he's "not comfortable" around gays.

   Mary Cheney, the vice president's lesbian daughter, had her first child this morning at Sibley Hospital in Washington, D.C.

   A senior official in the campaign for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote an internal memorandum to the campaign advising Clinton not to participate in the Iowa caucuses, arguing that she probably could not win them and that she would be better off spending her time and campaign money in places more hospitable to her campaign.

In The Star:

   Tim Hoover covers Missouri AG Jay Nixon's call for Gov. Matt Blunt to veto the MoHELA bill.

  Jim Sullinger has the Kansas Legislature approving a $32 million aid package for Greensburg.

   David Klepper reports that environmentalists are going to keep applying pressure on Kansas legislators to require that power companies use wind as an energy source.

   Columnist Mike Hendricks points out that Sen. Claire McCaskill, in not pushing for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment,  is no Mr. Smith.

Elsewhere: Selections from The Hotline's "Wake-Up Call," ABC's The Note and others.

   The lead on The Note today: "Here's a fun game for this week: Count the number of times Democratic supporters of the war-funding measure say their bill isn't a 'blank check,' and how many times Republican supporters of the immigration bill say their legislation isn't 'amnesty.'"

   Former Justice Department White House liaison Monica Goodling testifies today (beginning about 9:30 a.m. CDT) before the House Judiciary Committee on the Justice Department's firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

    ABCNews.com reports that the CIA "has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert 'black' operation to destabilize the Iranian government."

    According to the AP, President Bush plans to rally support for the war by citing intelligence reports that have Osama bin Laden ordering "a terrorist unit to hit targets outside Iraq, and that the United States should be first [hit]." 

   In the Kentucky gubernatorial primaries, GOP Gov. Ernie Fletcher, despite scandal, won a decisive victory with 50 percent over former U.S. Rep. Anne Northup's  37 percent. On the Democratic side, former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear finished over the 40% mark and avoided a run-off.

In The Washington Post, former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson opines that Rudy Giuliani's abortion position is indefensible: "Giuliani has chosen an option that is not an option -- a belief that unborn life deserves our sympathy but does not deserve rights or justice. This view is likely to dog him in the primary process, not only because it is pro-choice but because it is incoherent."

   Mike Huckabee's camp emailed out a fundraising solicitation titled: "So How Much Does Your Haircut Cost?" with a goal of raising 400 contributions in 96 hours.

   So what are the chances KC will snag the Seattle SuperSonics?

   Tim Leiweke, president of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which will manage the new downtown Sprint Center, said he's encouraged.

   Welcome back.

    Our Tuesday agenda:

    Kevin Murphy explains how the Royals and Jackson County will spend $250 million of your money.

    The Kansas Legislature will officially adjourn, after taking up a measure to help Greensburg, Kan.

    Paul Morrison climbs on bandwagon, asking for info on MySpace users with sex violations.

    In national news:

    Everyone's taking shots at the immigration bill.

    The Washington Post talks with fired U.S. attorney David Iglesias.

     (Side note: Monday the Justice Department dumped hundreds of pages of documents on the House Judiciary Committee, related to the U.S. attorney firings. We couldn't find a Todd Graves or Brad Schlozman reference, but they may be coming; the committee has asked for them. Monday's dump included some pretty brutal job performance findings relating to the seven fired U.S. attorneys we know, minus Bud Cummins.)

    Abortion opponents are focusing on the mother's health, not that of the fetus, and that's showing some results, The New York Times reports.

  Can't trust that day.

  Here, in random order, are your discussion topics for today:

   Everyone is taking shots at the immigration compromise.

   Alberto Gonzales may quit this week, says Sen. Arlen Specter.

   The Iraq Study Group may be making a comeback.

   Democrats are doing a better job using the Internet, experts say.

   Kit Wagar and Tim Hoover take a look at the just-completed Missouri legislative session.  The conclusion?  Big proposals fizzled. But see:  AP's take; Democrats' reaction.

   AP says the Graves-Bond rift is behind some of the Todd Graves-U.S. attorneys story.

    Sen. Claire McCaskill won't sign on to a new push ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

  Good morning!  I'm Dave Helling, sitting in this morning for Keith Chrostowski.

   In the news.....  Matt Campbell says the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit made about $3 million for Union Station (there's video at the link, too.)

   KU may freeze its tuition for incoming freshmen.

   A former ACORN worker admits breaking federal law in voter registration case.

    The fight over moving some students out of the Kansas City, Missouri school district and into suburban districts continues -- we've got reaction.

    In news across the nation:

    Paul Wolfowitz, out.

    Alberto Gonzales, still in, but hanging by a thread.

    Senators agree on an immigration compromise.

    The search for three missing servicement in Iraq intensifies.

    More to come, later.

   A former voter registration worker for an activist community organization pleaded guilty in federal court today to filing false paperwork with the Kansas City election board last fall.

   Carmen R. Davis, 38, was charged in January with voter registration fraud and identity theft before the November 2006 elections.

   The charges against four former ACORN workers have mushroomed into a national issue as some have alleged the indictments to be part of a political program to suppress minority voter turnout in the November elections.

   Interim U.S. Attorney Bradley Schlozman brought the charges less than a week before the elections. A few weeks later, prosecutors dropped charges against one defendant, whose identity had been stolen by the actual culprit, they said.

    Davis subsequently was indicted.

   Earlier this week, Dale D. Franklin, who pleaded guilty to filing false voter registrations in February, was sentenced to probation. Brian Gardner pleaded guilty in March and is awaiting sentencing, while Kwaim A. Stenson is scheduled for trial in July. Davis, Franklin, Gardner and Stenson are from Kansas City.

    Senators from both parties announced an agreement this afternoon on immigration-reform legislation that would bring illegal immigrants and their families “out of the shadows and into the sunshine of American life,” as Senator Edward M. Kennedy put it.

   The bill would provide an opportunity “right away” for millions of illegal aliens to correct their status, said Kennedy. It would emphasize family ties as well as employment skills in weighing how soon immigrants could become legal residents, he said.

In The Star:

   Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts joins those saying AG Alberto Gonzales should consider resigning.

   Judy Thomas reports that Kansas AG Paul Morrison is looking into complaints against First Family Church alleging that the Rev. Jerry Johnston misused church money.

   Tim Hoover covered General Assembly passage of a bill allowing a vote that would make it easier for schools that lie in Independence to break off from the KC school district.

   Kit Wagar followed the legislative debate that is deadlocking plans to revamp Missouri health care for the poor.

   The AP's Sam Hananel reports that U.S. GOP Rep. Kenny Hulshof reportedly is being considered to become the next MU president.

Elsewhere: Selections from The Hotline's "Wake-Up Call," ABC's The Note and others.

   More details are emerging from the canidates personal finance reports. John and Elizabeth Edwards reported assets of about $30 million and income of more than $7 million in the last 16 months, the New York Post reports. The Chicago Tribune says the "poorer man among the top tier" is Barack Obama "who scraped by last year on an income" of just under $1 million. Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton requested filing extensions.

   Bill Richardson plans to announce officially his White House bid  Monday in Los Angeles.

   The Los Angeles Times contends Sen. John McCain's "wooden movements, along with his age and appearance, are creating an impression about McCain's health that could be a liability."

   Obama, asked if he would consider Oprah for vice president: "I think Oprah is far more powerful than a vice president. I think that would be a demotion for her."

   Samuel Berger, the Clinton White House national security adviser who was caught taking highly classified documents from the National Archives, has agreed to forfeit his license to practice law. But In giving up his license, Berger avoids being cross-examined by the Board on Bar Counsel, where he risked further disclosure of specific details of his theft.

   There was no press conference involving Brad Schlozman after the ACORN indictments were handed up Nov. 1, 2006.

   Here's what we posted on the Buzz Blog that afternoon:

  The U.S. Attorney's office says a federal grand jury handed up indictments this afternoon against four people who, the indictments claim, worked for the community group ACORN to register voters.

   The four face two felony counts each: of providing false information to the KC Election board, and of filing a false voter application with the board.  Each carries a 5 year/$250,000 fine penalty.

  ACORN says it's happy the indictments were handed up -- they say they provided the names of three of the four indicted individuals, who, they say, no longer work for ACORN.

   Said U.S. attorney Bradley Schlozman, in a statement: "Those who commit fraud in the electoral process dilute the votes of their fellow citizens."

   More to come.

    Here's what the story said in The Star, the next day:

   A federal grand jury handed up indictments Wednesday against four people for allegedly submitting false voter registrations to the Kansas City election board.

    The indictments -- against Kwaim A. Stenson; Dale D. Franklin; Stephanie L. Davis, also known as Latisha Reed; and Brian Gardner -- include two felony counts against each, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

    All four defendants worked this year as voter registration recruiters for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as ACORN. They could not be reached for comment.

     ACORN officials said they no longer work for the group. And, they emphasized, ACORN turned in the names of three of the defendants to authorities last month after learning of the problem.

     "I think that our system is working because we caught these people," Andrew Ginsberg, head organizer for Kansas City ACORN, said in an interview. "Sometimes people cheat, whether they make eight dollars an hour or eight million an hour."

    Each charge of "knowingly and willingly" filing the false information carries a potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

    "Those who commit fraud in the electoral process dilute the votes of their fellow citizens," U.S. Attorney Bradley Schlozman said in a statement.

     The statement added: "This national investigation is very much ongoing."

    Claudie Harris, board president for Kansas City ACORN, said the indictments do not taint the 35,000 other voter registrations submitted by ACORN in Kansas City this year. "I think we’re doing a great job," she said.

     Kansas City’s Republican election director, Ray James, said the indictments could help maintain public trust in the election process.

      "I hate for anyone to be prosecuted and suffer," James said. "But I’ve long been concerned about the rights of the general public to a fair election."

      James and his Democratic counterpart, Sharon Turner Buie, have said that as many as 15,000 recently submitted voter registrations could be "questionable" -- which they define as duplicates, unreadable applications, or containing information that doesn’t match other existing records.

      Last week the board chairwoman, Melodie Powell, said the board had turned over the investigation of the questionable cards to local and federal authorities.

     ACORN has said that some of its applications may have contained honest mistakes. But it also says some of the problems may be political.

     "I think if we had registered 35,000 Republicans, none of this would have been in the news," Ginsberg said.

     Republicans were quick to respond. "This illegal assault on our election system should concern every voter in the state," party spokesman Paul Sloca said in a statement.

     Democratic party spokesman Jack Cardetti said, "We absolutely support the prosecution of anyone who turns in fraudulent registration cards."

     The Republican election director in St. Louis has criticized ACORN’s voter registration process in that city. Its board sent letters to 5,000 voters asking them to re-verify their registrations, an action some critics called illegal.

  Several bloggers, and people who have posted here, have asked to see the press release issued by Brad Schlozman when a grand jury indicted four former ACORN workers last November.

  We've checked our files, and can't find an official press release, which is perhaps why one can't be found on the DOJ website.  Instead, we were sent PDF copies of the indictments (one of which named the wrong person) along with this statement by Don Ledford, the office's PIO, reprinted here in its entirety

Attached are four separate indictments returned this afternoon by a federal grand jury in Kansas City. All of these defendants are KC residents who were employed by ACORN. US Attorney Bradley J. Schlozman is not available for interviews, but issues the following statement:

Those who commit fraud in the electoral process dilute the votes of their fellow citizens and undermine the integrity of our democratic system.  The Department of Justice will not allow such fraud to go unpunished.

This national investigation is very much ongoing.

   Schlozman did issue a formal release when one of the workers pleaded guilty last February.  The release is attached below. 

     Also, The House Judiciary Committee wants to take a look at unredacted documents related the removal of Todd Graves and his replacement with Schlozman.  The Senate Judiciary committee may issue a subpoena to Schlozman, since he failed to testify Tuesday.

  Read the story here.

In The Star:

   Christine Vendel and Mark Morris report that the city's disputed withdrawal of more than $400,000 from a construction account funded by the KC Police Department has prompted police commissioners to call for an audit.

   Russ Pulley covered the charges levied against two Lee's Summit residents for allegedly putting false signatures on petitions that led to an unsuccessful recall vote against a councilwoman.

   Tim Hoover finds that an attempt to legalize midwifery in Missouri has backfired.

   David Klepper reports on a Kanas study finding that the state's decision to sell off its vehicle fleet and rent instead didn't save much money.

Elsewhere: Selections from The Hotline's "Wake-Up Call," ABC's The Note and others.

   Last night's GOP s debate was "far more free-wheeling, and revealing" than the first one, The New York Times says. "Much of the attacks were" on John McCain, reports FOXNews.com. The Columbia State calls it "the introduction of candidate "Rudy McRomney." Bloomberg notes a sharp exchange between Mitt Romney and McCain over immigration and abortion. And the New York Post has an "irate" Rudy Giuliani ripping into Ron Paul. 

   NRO's Rich Lowry says the Paul-Giuliani exchange "probably means Rudy won this debate." The Des Moines Register's David Yepsen thinks "Romney had the best overall performance." According to The Politico, Mike Huckabee "got off the best one-liner of the night."  

  The Note notes that developments on Capitol Hill continue to shape the 2008 race. The Senate today will take a round of Iraq votes -- it's all politics, no policy, since none of the proposals can or will pass -- pitting the Democratic candidates in a cat-and-mouse game. The New York Times calls it a sign of how much "presidential politics have, once again, become intertwined with the debate in Congress." 

   The World Bank's directors are considering Paul Wolfowitz's fate today after White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said yesterday, "All options are on the table." The Washington Post reports that "the White House has concluded, through conversations with counterparts in foreign capitals and from the committee report, that Wolfowitz can no longer effectively head the institution." 

   The Los Angeles Times' Scott Martelle asks: "A third party? This could be the time."

    The Rev. Jerry Falwell has died at 73, the AP is reporting.

    Here's a story.

  Time's Jay Carney asks if New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg will mount a run as an independent presidential candidate in 2008.

   So, should he or shouldn't he? What would be his strengths? His weaknesses? Who will be more upset? Democrats? Or Republicans?