Stocks have worst day since 9/11 attacks  —  NEW YORK - Stocks had their worst day of trading since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks Tuesday, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down more than 400 points on a worldwide tide of concern that the U.S. and Chinese economies are stumbling and that share prices have become overinflated.

African American Voters Shift Support to Obama  —  The opening stages of the campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination have produced a noticeable shift in sentiment among African American voters, who little more than a month ago heavily supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton …

Rice: U.S. joining Iraq in inviting Iran, Syria to 'neighbors meeting'  —  The United States and the Iraqi government are launching a new diplomatic initiative to invite Iran and Syria to a neighbors meeting on stabilizing Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday.

REWRITING HERSTORY: HUFFPO EXPUNGES, EDITS 100S OF COMMENTS AT THE CHENEY HATE FESTIVAL  —  Over the last few hours, the more than 400 comments appended to the Huffington Post's news item on the attack in Afghanistan on a base being visited by Vice-President Dick Cheney have been expunged from the site.

Democrats Back Away From War Fund Plan  —  WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders are backing away from a plan to scale back U.S. involvement in the Iraq war by using Congress' most powerful tool _ withholding money in the budget.  —  Instead, party officials said Tuesday …

Carl Levin Calls for Attacks On Syria.  Admits Al-Qaeda In Iraq & Troops Need to Stay  —  UPDATE: The video is here.  —  Get ready for Carl Levin to get shot by Cindy Sheehan or some other angry lefty.  I'm not sure what happened to him, but he's making sense right now.

Afghan Bombing Sends a Danger Signal to U.S.  —  The audacity of a suicide-bomb attack on Tuesday at the gates of the main American base in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney underscores why President Bush sent him there — a deepening American concern that the Taliban and Al Qaeda are resurgent.

Former CIA Operative Weighs in on Afghan War; Kerik Weighs in on NYC Terror Threats; Expert: Photos Reveal Father of Anna Nicole`s Baby  —  THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.  —  GLENN BECK, HOST: Coming up, Vice President Cheney was the target of a suicide attack.

CanWest Buys out the New Republic  —  Just days after purchasing the shares from money men Roger Hertog and Michael Steinhardt, Canadian media giant Can West has completely bought out the New Republic.  —  The Observer first reported in Dec. 2006 (2nd item) that CanWest was taking a majority stake in the company.

U.S. Find Stokes Fears Of Iraqis' Bomb-Making Ability  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq — An American military raid in southern Iraq uncovered a makeshift factory used to construct advanced roadside bombs that the U.S. had thought were made only in Iran.  The find raises fears that Shiite Muslim insurgents across Iraq …

Gang rapes Jewish women as 'revenge'  —  A gang of serial rapists has been prowling the North, raping Jewish women as revenge for IDF actions in the West Bank, police revealed Tuesday after arresting six suspects.  —  "We are raping Jews because of what the IDF is doing to the Palestinians …

Jeb in 2008?  —  Don't be surprised if, come November of 2008, voters are choosing between Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush for president.  —  But how can that be?  Jeb's not running.  —  Well, he isn't running now, but the new, front-loaded primary system may, counterintuitively …

Liberating Iraq  —  Peter Beinart has a piece in TNR about why he supported the war: … He also writes about why he got it wrong: … I admire Peter Beinart's willingness to think about what he got wrong, and why.  But while I think that he's right to say that we can't be the country …

Cohen faulted "colleagues" for portraying Gore "as a serial exaggerator" and "pretender" in 2000, ignored his own role  —  In his February 27 column, Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen faulted "some of my colleagues" who "caricatured" former Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 presidential campaign …

Ashcroft Pizza Party Raises Ethics Eyebrows  —  A pizza luncheon to be hosted this Wednesday by former Attorney General turned consultant John Ashcroft for some of his old political appointees has raised eyebrows in the Justice Department's ethics office, U.S. News has learned.

Gin!  Rummy!  —  Oh, the duck.  Oh, the risotto.  Oh the crepes sporting raspberry and strawberry filling.  —  Tonight we treated the entire Extreme Mortman staff to a rare night out on the town, or, more accurately, an hour in the basement of the Willard Hotel.