Posted by Frank James at 7:23 am CDT
A quick tour of some of the day's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.
September could prove to be a key Iraq War deadline with lawmakers from both major parties wanting to see real progress by then if they aren't to place tough conditions on further funding.
National Guard units confront shortages in contending with natural disasters on the home front because most of their equipment is in Iraq and Afghanistan, a problem spotlighted by the town-destroying tornado in Kansas, which has raised worries of what might happen with the onset of hurricane season in June.
U.S. Air Force aircraft are wearing out due to their age and use in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the service's top combat commander, resulting in 87 percent more spending on maintenance than in 1996 for a fleet less ready for action.
Paul Wolfowitz, the World Bank's president, appeared under increased pressure as European nations offered to agree with President Bush choosing the next leader for the global lending institution if the embattled current leader steps down.
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) called for a congressional investigation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission's failure to act more decisively to keep an unsafe magnetic toy out of children's hands after a Chicago Tribune series publicized the agency's failures.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), during a speech in Detroit where he was more tepidly received than normal at a campaign appearance, called on the auto industry to make more fuel-efficient cars as a way to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
President Bush's stumble in his welcoming remarks during Queen Elizabeth II's White House arrival in which he nearly made it sound like she was two-centuries older than she is, was an icebreaker on a day when much of official Washington was entranced by Her Royal Highness.
A new alliance of Christians, including some megachurches, evangelicals and Mennonites, formed to seek stronger border security and immigration-law reforms that would help provide legal status to millions of illegal immigrants.
The Chinese government is quietly lobbying in the nation's capital to quell threats that next year's 2008 Summer Olympics might be boycotted over China's failure to exert its influence with Sudan to stop government-supported genocide in Darfur.
Rudy Giuliani, the Republican presidential candidate and former New York City mayor, again faced questions about his abortion stance with reports that he and his wife contributed repeatedly to Planned Parenthood.
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