Rocky headline claimed that "Dems" walked out of U.S. House during FISA debate, when it was GOP that did so

Summary: The "Rocky Today" news digest in the Rocky Mountain News on February 15 carried a headline reading "House Dems stage U.S. Capitol walkout." But contrary to the headline, the Associated Press article to which it referred stated that "angry Republicans" had "staged a walkout down the Capitol steps" in response to Democrats' refusal to "budge" on approving a bill to extend the federal government's wiretapping authority.

A headline in the "Rocky Today" news digest in the Rocky Mountain News' February 15 print edition stated "House Dems stage U.S. Capitol walkout." However, as the Associated Press article (accessed through the paper's electronic edition) to which the headline referred made clear, it was "angry Republicans" who "staged a walkout down the Capitol steps" after Democrats refused to "budge" on a bill "giving the government more leeway to eavesdrop on phone calls and e-mails of suspected terrorists."

As the AP reported, "In a day of political brinkmanship, President Bush pressured the House on Thursday to finish a bill giving the government more leeway to eavesdrop on phone calls and e-mails of suspected terrorists." Contrary to the News' headline, the article then reported that "House Democrats didn't budge and angry Republicans staged a walkout down the Capitol steps." The AP article as published in the News further reported:

From the White House, Bush argued that the House has plenty of time to pass a bill before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expires at midnight Saturday. The president plans to leave on a five-nation trip to Africa on Friday afternoon, but said he'd delay his departure and stay in Washington "if it will help them complete their work on this critical bill."

The News' version of the AP article trimmed the next three paragraphs, in which the AP reported:

On Capitol Hill, House Republicans stormed out of the House chamber to boycott a vote to hold two presidential confidants in contempt for failing to cooperate with an inquiry into whether federal prosecutors were ousted for political reasons.

"We have space on the calendar today for a politically charged fishing expedition, but no space for a bill that would protect the American people from terrorists who want to kill us," said Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, the minority leader.

"Let's just get up and leave," he told his colleagues, before walking out with scores of Republicans in tow. [emphases added]

As of its February 16 print edition, the News had not corrected the inaccurate headline.

—C.K.