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Bush On Pace To Break Presidential Vacation Record
President Bush is on pace to break a new presidential record for taking vacations. CBS News is reporting Bush has spent all or part of 418 days of his presidency at his estate in Crawford Texas. He is heading there today for a two week vacation. The presidential vacation-time record holder is the late Ronald Reagan, who tallied 436 days in his two terms. With 17 months to go in his presidency, Bush is expected to beat that easily. President Bush spent this past weekend in Kennebunkport Maine at the Bush family compound. On Saturday he met with newly elected French President Nicholas Sarkozy. When a reporter asked President Bush if he could say something in French, Bush replied “No I can’t. I can barely speak English.”

Facing Subpoenas, Karl Rove Resigns
President Bush’s top adviser Karl Rove has announced he will step down as White House deputy chief of staff on August 31. Rove’s resignation comes while he is at the center of several Congressional investigations. Last month Senate Judiciary Chair Patrick Leahy subpoenaed Rove to testify about his role in the politicization of the Justice Department and the firing of nine U.S. attorneys. So far Rove has ignored the subpoena and has refused to testify, citing executive privilege. In addition, two weeks ago Rove skipped a Congressional hearing on the allegedly improper use by White House aides of Republican National Committee email accounts. Rove told the Wall Street Journal that he is resigning in order to spend more time with his family. For the past 19 years Rove worked as George W. Bush’s closest political advisor, first in Texas, then in Washington. During that time he earned the nickname of Bush’s Brain.

Two Radio Journalists Assassinated in Somalia
In Somalia, two prominent radio journalists were assassinated within hours of each other on Saturday in Mogadishu. Both journalists were leading figures at the radio station HornAfrik and one was also a freelance correspondent for the McClatchy newspapers. Mahad Ahmed Elmi was shot three times in the head by an unknown assailant as he arrived for work on Saturday morning. The killing occurred just 200 yards from the entrance to the radio station. HornAfrik’s co-founder, Ali Iman Sharmarke, died after a land mine exploded under his car. He had just returned from Elmi’s funeral. Colleagues said they were assassinated in retaliation for broadcasts critical of Somalia’s pro-U.S. interim government. The Somali government has repeatedly cracked down on independent media outlets that air critical reports. In June, authorities briefly forced the closure of HornAfrik and two other radio stations that it accused of “supporting terrorism.” On Friday, police stormed the Shabelle radio station and held several journalists for hours.

Chicago Group Cancels Speech Critical Of Israeli Lobby
And the Chicago Council on Global Affairs has canceled an upcoming speech by two prominent critics of the pro-Israeli lobby in Washington. John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt were scheduled to speak on Sept. 27 to discuss their upcoming book, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.” The Wall Street Journal reports the president of the Chicago Council, Marshall Bouton, canceled the event under pressure from critics who were uncomfortable with the academics’ arguments.

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