Cooked Up Plot?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Cooked Up Plot?

When New York officials closed subway stations last week in response to what they said was a credible threat of an Al Qaeda attack using explosive baby carriages, Washington officials were left scratching their heads. Now we know why.

The informant who tipped off authorities to the threat has now admitted the whole thing was a hoax. The man had claimed that Iraqi Al Qaeda operatives had cooked up the plot, which was to occur some time over the weekend.

But federal officials who interrogated the three Iraqi suspects called the man's claims "completely unsubstantiated." A federal law enforcement official tells FOX News that the source had been paid for information in the past and may have been motivated by money.

Brits Question Their Plan

British officials are reconsidering their version of a Yemeni program to release jailed Islamic militants who embrace a peaceful view of the Koran, after many of the freed extremists have been recaptured fighting the U.S. in Iraq.

Yemeni scholars engage prisoners in a "theological duel," in which they and the prisoners quote Koranic texts at each other until the extremists are "re-educated." 364 men have been paroled under the Yemeni plan and the British Government has considered implementing a similar program to cut down on Muslim radicals.

But Usama bin Laden's former chief bodyguard — who was re-arrested after completing the program — says it did nothing to diminish his beliefs, telling the BBC that many militants pretend to repent to gain a speedy release.

Rove "Less Involved"?

In its coverage of Harriet Miers, TIME magazine quotes an unnamed, "presidential adviser" as saying that Karl Rove was "less involved" than usual in the selection of the Supreme Court Nominee and that the "driving force" behind Miers' appointment was White House chief of staff Andy Card.

But according to senior White House aides who were part of the process, Rove was deeply involved in the decision to name Miers — serving on the group that vetted her — and has been a staunch defender of the president's decision.

The TIME source also claims that the President made the decision in near isolation with — quote — "no one there to tell him no." In fact, not only was Rove involved, but so was Vice President Cheney, who also supported Miers.

Jobs Going to Immigrants?

With labor at a premium in New Orleans, the Los Angeles Times reports that illegal Hispanic immigrants are scooping up high paying construction jobs. But Jesse Jackson thinks displaced New Orleans residents should get those jobs and he's blaming the Bush administration for failing to put evacuees to work rebuilding their city.

Jackson has taken matters into his own hands, leading a caravan of buses to St Louis to convince evacuees to return home and go to work, and bringing the message that New Orleans citizens "should have priority over imported workers to rebuild the city." But only three people boarded the Jackson's bus in St Louis and two of those spoke only Spanish.

— FOX News' Aaron Bruns contributed to this report