Zinni's Zinger?  —  Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:  —  Former Clinton CENTCOM commander, Anthony Zinni — the most prominent of the retired generals attacking Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — now says that, in the run-up to the war in Iraq, "What bothered me ...

Two arrests made in Duke lacrosse case  —  Duke University lacrosse players Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty were charged today with first degree forcible rape, first degree sexual offense and kidnapping in connection with a reported rape at a Duke University lacrosse party, according to George Naylor, director of the jail.

Times-Picayune, Sun Herald Win Pulitzer  —  NEW YORK - The staffs of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans and The Sun Herald of south Mississippi captured Pulitzer Prizes for public service on Monday for chronicling the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina despite life-changing damage to their own homes and workplaces.

New Chief of Staff Sends Message: The White House Exits Are Open  —  WASHINGTON, April 17 — The new White House chief of staff put the West Wing and official Washington on notice on Monday about potentially substantial changes in the way the White House is staffed and operates.

Moussaoui's Childhood Is Presented as Mitigating Factor  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 17 — Lawyers trying to persuade a jury to spare the life of Zacarias Moussaoui began presenting testimony about his childhood on Monday, to show that he grew up in a neglectful household in France where his father beat …

Clinton Sets Bar for '08 Funds  —  Senator Has $20 Million for Reelection, Possible Presidential Bid  —  Candidates eyeing 2008 presidential bids collected millions for a variety of campaign committees over the first three months of the year, with New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton far ahead of the pack.

Bush death threat tied to PU student  —  A Purdue University graduate student was arrested and charged with threatening to kill President George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.  —  Vikram Buddhi allegedly posted the detailed and threatening messages on an online message board.

State Department Memo: '16 Words' Were False  —  Eleven days before President Bush's January 28, 2003, State of the Union address in which he said that the US learned from British intelligence that Iraq had attempted to acquire uranium from Africa - an explosive claim that helped pave the way to war …

George Washington U. to Receive Jack Anderson's Papers — but FBI Wants to See Them First  —  During his life and career as a muckraking journalist in Washington, Jack Anderson cultivated secret sources throughout the halls of government — sources who passed on information that allowed Anderson …

U.S. Envoy to Expose 4 Sudanese in U.N. Debate About Darfur  —  UNITED NATIONS, April 17 — John R. Bolton, the United States ambassador, said Monday that he intended to offer a Security Council resolution on Tuesday that would publicly identify four Sudanese individuals responsible for atrocities …

A Very Brief History of Art, Featuring Mr. Potato Head  —  As part of my never-ending quest to make the Llamabutchers one day say, "Holy crap, that Sobek fellow is so geeky, he makes us look flat out hip!" as well as part of certain court-ordered community service (I was framed, BTW) …

Campus Lockdown Appalls Parents  —  Some students at an Inglewood elementary school were barred from using the restroom.  —  As students from neighboring secondary schools walked out of class recently to protest immigration legislation, one Inglewood elementary school imposed a lockdown …

Mississippi Senators' Rail Plan Challenged  —  War Bill Includes Millions to Move Just-Rebuilt Line  —  Mississippi's two U.S. senators included $700 million in an emergency war spending bill to relocate a Gulf Coast rail line that has already been rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina at a cost of at least $250 million.

DITHERING WON'T STOP IRAN'S NUKES  —  April 18, 2006 — 'UNHELPFUL": So British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw described Iran's announcement that it has now joined "the nuclear club.  " Straw's French and German colleagues did no better.  One saw Iran's provocative move as "regrettable the other preferred "disappointing."