JIM LEHRER: The U.S. Senate voted today to keep an Iraq pullout deadline in a war funding bill. The vote was 50-48. Senators backed a nonbinding goal of having combat troops leave within a year. The president had warned he'd veto any bill with a pullout deadline. Senate leaders summed things up before the vote.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), Senate Minority Leader: Well, I would hope the Democrats would not deny the troops the money. That's the risk they take by junking the bill up with restrictive language that we talked about and also by adding a significant amount of spending that is completely unrelated to getting funding for the troops.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), Senate Majority Leader: The president doesn't have to do anything. He is the president; we're the Congress. I would hope that he would be willing to work with us in coming up with some language that both bodies could accept. At this stage, he has been very non-negotiable, so we'll see what happens.
JIM LEHRER: A final vote on the Senate bill is expected later this week. It has to be reconciled with a House measure that sets a mandatory pullout deadline of September 2008. We'll have more on this story right after the news summary.
As the Senate debated, new bombings in Iraq killed dozens of people today. To the north, at least 48 Iraqis died when two truck bombs went off at popular markets. More than 100 others were wounded.
To the west, in Ramadi, 10 more Iraqis were killed in a suicide car bombing. Also today, the U.S. military announced another U.S. Marine was killed last Saturday.
Tensions continued to mount today between Iran and Britain. The Iranians seized 15 British sailors and marines last week, including one woman. In London today, British Prime Minister Blair said he'll exhaust every option, diplomatic and otherwise.
TONY BLAIR, Prime Minister of Britain: What we're trying to do at the moment is to pursue this through the diplomatic channels and make the Iranian government understand that these people have to be released and that there is absolutely no justification whatever for holding them. And I hope we manage to get them to realize they have to release them; if not, then this will move into a different phase.
JIM LEHRER: Blair did not say what that "different phase" might involve.
Also today, the U.S. Navy launched its largest maneuvers in the Persian Gulf since the invasion of Iraq four years ago. The exercises involved more than 100 warplanes from two aircraft carrier battle groups. A U.S. commander said the move was not a response to Iran's seizure of the British sailors.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders will start meeting every two weeks. U.S. Secretary of State Rice confirmed that today during a trip to the region. She said Israeli Prime Minister Olmert will talk about day-to-day issues with Palestinian President Abbas. They'll try to pave the way for a final peace settlement. The U.S. will try to set benchmarks for a cease-fire between the two sides.
White House officials announced today Press Secretary Tony Snow has cancer again. They said it's spread to his liver and elsewhere. The diagnosis came after Snow had a small cancerous growth removed from his lower abdomen yesterday. He had colon cancer two years ago and had his entire colon removed.
President Bush spoke with Snow early today and then made a brief statement in the White House Rose Garden.
GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: It's a recurrence of a cancer that he thought that he'd successfully dealt with in the past. His attitude is one that he is not going to let this whip him. And he's upbeat. My attitude is that we need to pray for him.
JIM LEHRER: An aide said Snow is consulting with his doctors on a new course of chemotherapy. It was unclear if or when he would return to his White House duties. Snow is 51 years old.
There were new warnings today that Attorney General Gonzales is in trouble. He's come under mounting pressure over his role in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys and his conflicting explanations.
Today, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Pete Hoekstra, said the attorney general is "badly weakened." He said, "The explanation has been absolutely abysmal."
Last night, Gonzales said he was "really pained" by critics who say he's lost his credibility. We'll have more on this later in the program tonight.
An Australian held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, David Hicks, may be going home to serve his prison time. That word came from U.S. and Australian officials today. Hicks pleaded guilty late Monday at a U.S. military hearing. He admitted fighting alongside al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
The plea was a surprise, but the chief prosecutor, Air Force Colonel Morris Davis, said it was Hicks' decision.
COL. MORRIS DAVIS, U.S. Air Force: The judge went through in great detail, getting Mr. Hicks' consent, understanding and agreement. This was a voluntary decision. Any actions that happened earlier in the proceedings did not have an impact. So, unless he was lying to the judge, then I have no reason to believe that that was anything less than true.
JIM LEHRER: Hicks has been held for five years. His sentencing could come later this week. The tribunal was the first in a series of four top detainees at Guantanamo.
A federal judge in Washington ruled today former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld cannot be sued for torture. Nine former prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan claimed they were beaten and burned, among other things. The judge called the allegations "horrifying," but he ruled government officials are immune from such lawsuits.
The FBI appealed to Congress today not to kill broad powers for hunting terror suspects. Director Robert Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee national security letters are a vital tool. An internal review found those letters were used illegally to collect information. But Mueller said the problem is not the law; it's the way the FBI used the law.
ROBERT MUELLER, FBI Director: These deficiencies are being addressed, and I welcome the committee's input and suggestions for additional improvements to our internal controls.
I do not believe, however, that the statute itself should be changed. The relevant standard established by the Patriot Act for the issuance of national security letters is unrelated to the problems identified by the inspector general.
JIM LEHRER: Mueller said he's ordered a full audit of the problems. He's also promised new compliance efforts. Still, the committee chairman, Democrat Patrick Leahy, said he has "very serious qualms."
In economic news, consumer confidence in March fell more than expected. The Conference Board, a business research group, blamed rising gasoline prices, falling home values, and the volatile stock market.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 71 points to close at 12,397. The Nasdaq fell 18 points to close at 2,437.
