Former President Ford dies at 93  —  LOS ANGELES - Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon's scandal-shattered White House as the 38th president and the only one never elected to nationwide office, has died.  He was 93.  —  "My family joins me in sharing the difficult news …

TROOPS HALP JON CARRY IN IRAK  —  On his visit to Iraq, Senator Kerry apparently got something like the silent treatment from the troops who are "stuck" there.  WDAY's Scott Hennen quotes a message from a friend serving in Iraq: … Scott comments:

Ethiopia Steps Up Attacks on Somalia  —  Planes Strike Airport; Refugees Flee to Kenya  —  Ethiopian warplanes attacked the airport in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, on Monday in another major escalation of fighting between the Ethiopian-backed Somali government and the Islamic Courts movement …

Iraq Court Upholds Saddam Death Sentence  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq's highest court rejected Saddam Hussein's appeal Tuesday and said the former dictator must be hanged within 30 days for ordering the killing of scores of Shiite Muslims in 1982.  —  The sentence has already stoked Iraq's sectarian rage …

Star Tribune being sold to private equity firm  —  A private equity firm has reached an agreement to buy the Star Tribune from the McClatchy Co., publisher Keith Moyer announced today.  —  Avista Capital Partners, an investment group focused on media, health care and energy companies …

Military considers recruiting foreigners  —  Expedited citizenship would be an incentive  —  An Armed Forces center in Plymouth.  US officials are trying tactics to find recruits; one involves attracting noncitizens.  (JULIA CUMES/ASSOCIATED PRESS)  —  WASHINGTON — The armed forces …

Working at Cross Purposes  —  Consider this policy aimed to help workers at the bottom of the income distribution:  —  1. A wage subsidy for unskilled workers, paid for by  —  2. A tax on employers who hire unskilled workers.  —  Now, if you think like an economist, you might wonder about the logic of part 2 of this proposal.

Bush is bracing for new scrutiny … WASHINGTON // President Bush is bracing for what could be an onslaught of investigations by the new Democratic-led Congress by hiring lawyers to fill key White House posts and preparing to play defense on countless document requests and possible subpoenas.

Bush's New Look on Iraq: Weary  —  Watching President Bush in recent weeks has become a grim kind of reality TV show.  In almost every news conference, speech and photo opportunity, the topic is the same: what to do about the grinding war in Iraq.  Bush has let the facade crack open …