Gore campaign team assembles in secret  —  Friends of Al Gore have secretly started assembling a campaign team in preparation for the former American vice-president to make a fresh bid for the White House.  —  Two members of Mr Gore's staff from his unsuccessful attempt in 2000 …

Suicide car bombers kill 13 in police station blasts … BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Two suicide car bombers attacked a police station Sunday in western Baghdad, killing at least 13 people and wounding 82, police said.  —  The bombs exploded as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Cairo …

High turnout seen in French election  —  PARIS - France began choosing a new president Sunday with millions of voters undecided and millions more voting for the first time, making the selection of two final candidates highly unpredictable.  —  The successor to Jacques Chirac …

REMEMBERING ADMIRAL STOCKDALE  —  The disgrace of the British sailors and marines in Iranian captivity caused many to recall the heroics of Admiral James Stockdale.  The photo above depicts Admiral Stockdale's reunion with his family in 1973 after President Nixon secured his release.

Bush Doesn't Joke at WHCA Dinner Due to Virginia Tech Killings — But Rich Little Says 'Nuts'  —  WASHINGTON What would the White House Correspondents Association dinner do for an encore on Saturday night in Washington following last year's controversial Stephen Colbert routine?

After Iraqi Troops Do Dirty Work, 3 Detainees Talk  —  Out here in what the soldiers call Baghdad's wild west, sometimes the choices are all bad.  —  In one of the new joint American-Iraqi security stations in the capital this month, in the volatile Ghazaliya neighborhood …

Mishandling the massacre  —  To boost their ratings, the media encourage the next mass killer  —  For the sake of a few dollars more, NBC has brought closer the day of the next public mass killing in America.  —  "This was a sick business tonight, going on the air with this," …

The Dutch Way or the Highway … Reuters has an interesting article up about a Belgian auto parts supplier who has forbidden his employees to speak another language than Dutch while at work.  If they ignore the rule, they can be fired. … The employees who are most upset with this rule …

Lower Than Dirt  —  For some reason — don't ask — I was looking at Rush Limbaugh's web site, and I saw this headline: "Can Any Good Come from V Tech Horror?" followed by this blurb: "Maybe, just maybe, we'll face the hatred for American traditions and capitalism infesting our campuses."  No, I thought.

Bush sees tide turning in Iraq  —  President Bush yesterday said his strategy to send more troops to Iraq is turning the tide in favor of U.S. and Iraqi forces and rebutted claims by a top Democrat that the war is lost.  —  "The direction of the fight is beginning to shift," …

Obama Addresses Question of Experience  —  NEW YORK (AP) - Wooing black voters while tackling questions about his experience, Democrat Barack Obama said Saturday that his years as a community organizer and accomplishments in the Illinois state Senate have prepared him well for the presidency.

Criminal Probe Opened in Pet Food Scare  —  FDA Says Charges Possible; Tainted Pork Confirmed in Calif.  —  The Food and Drug Administration has opened a criminal investigation in the widening pet food contamination scandal, officials said yesterday, as it was confirmed that tainted pork might …

CIA VS. MPG  —  Over at Contentions Gabriel Schoenfeld takes a look at one area in which the CIA is claiming bragging rights: … Schoenfeld's post would have opened up new vistas for the late Antonio Prohias to pursue in a Spy vs. Spy.  In the graphic above, Spy is thinking outmoded thoughts about Spy.

Before Deadly Rage, a Life Consumed by a Troubling Silence  —  From the beginning, he did not talk.  Not to other children, not to his own family.  Everyone saw this.  In Seoul, South Korea, where Seung-Hui Cho grew up, his mother agonized over his sullen, brooding behavior and empty face.