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• U.S. to Accept Iran’s Proposal to Hold Face-to-Face Talks Unconditionally
  The Obama administration said Friday that the United States would accept Iran’s offer to meet, fulfilling President Obama’s pledge to hold unconditional talks despite the Iranian government’s insistence that it would not negotiate over the future of its nuclear program.
  The decision to engage directly with Iran would put a senior representative of the Obama administration at the bargaining table, along with emissaries from five other nations, for the first time since Mr. Obama took office.

  The decision is bound to raise protests from conservatives who contend that unconditional talks are naïve, and from human rights groups that say the United States should not legitimize an Iranian government that appears to have manipulated its presidential election in June and crushed protests after the vote.

  (tags: Iran barack_obama)
• US Shifts Policy, Willing to Meet 1-on-1 With North Korea
  The US shifted its policy today, saying it is now willing to meet one on one with North Korea if that is helpful to bring Pyongyang back to the nuclear negotiations.

  US envoy Stephen Bosworth got the green light from the other members of the 6-party talks, negotiations to rid Pyongyang of its nuclear program, during meetings in the region in recent days.

  North Korea has extended an invitation for Bosworth to visit Pyongyang, but officials say it’s unclear where or when a meeting could take place.

  (tags: north_korea barack_obama)
• California legislators end session without solution to water problems – FAIL
  California lawmakers who began this year's session with a massive budget shortfall ended it on another low note early this morning, unable to agree on a wide-ranging plan to fix the state's water problems.

  Gavels finally pounded in the Capitol shortly before sunrise following an all-night session marked by partisan fighting in the Senate that ultimately shelved about a dozen bills.

  The Senate, after days of holding out for a better package, ultimately accepted an Assembly-passed plan of changes to the parole and prison systems that will save hundreds of millions of dollars this year – but falls short of the package demanded by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
  +++++++
  The California Legislature is terminally broken!

  (tags: california_legislature)

Twitpic via Brooks Bayne

Of course, the New York Times downplays the number of protesters but the crowd is now estimated at 2 million.

The Wall Street Journal has a piece about the conservative protests.

And, the Tea Party Express Blog is here.

Live Video Coverage from Fox News is here.

A Video summary:

Update:

So, how many attended?

However big it was, it was bigger than expected. From the NYT: “Many came on their own and were not part of an organization or group. But the magnitude of the rally took the authorities by surprise, with throngs of people streaming from the White House to Capitol Hill for more than three hours.”