Today's Papers: The Unending Abuse Trail

The Los Angeles Times leads with news that the administration will be releasing photographs of alleged abuses of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan next month. Late yesterday, administration lawyers informed a judge in New York that the government will release 44 photographs that the American Civil Liberties Union had demanded as part of a lawsuit, plus a "substantial number" of other images, by May 28. The Washington Post leads with a long look at the internal debate between White House officials that preceded the release of the four memos detailing CIA interrogation tactics. In deciding whether the memos should be released, President Obama faced "one of the sharpest policy divides of his young administration," reports the paper. The New York Times leads, and the Wall Street Journal goes high, with word that the government has ordered Chrysler to prepare for a bankruptcy filing as early as next week. Under the current negotiations, Chrysler would file for bankruptcy even if it manages to reach a deal with creditors, the United Workers Union, and Fiat. The WSJ leads its world-wide newsbox with, while the LAT and NYT front, U.S. officials and Pakistani politicians calling on Pakistan's military to unleash its full force against the Taliban militants who have taken over the Buner district, which is a mere 70 miles from the capital. The Taliban forces in Buner easily beat back a government militia that was deployed to the area to take back the government buildings. USA Today leads with a new poll that shows Obama has managed to maintain good approval ratings while also improving his image with the American people. The percentage of Americans who see Obama as a "strong and decisive leader" has increased 12 points since October, while the view that he is an effective manager has gone up by 11 points. Overall, 56 percent say he has done an "excellent" or "good" job since moving into the White House, while 20 percent give him a "poor" or "terrible" rating. As good as his numbers may be, his wife beat him hands down with 79 percent saying they approve of the way Michelle Obama is handling her job as first lady.

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