Sen. Clinton's Empty Table  —  "THERE ARE basically only three options: We can raise taxes again, which no one wants to do because the payroll tax is regressive. . . We can cut benefits. . . Or we can work together to try to find some way to increase the rate of return."

Burma: Thousands dead in the massacre of the monks dumped in the jungle  —  Thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle, a former intelligence officer for Burma's ruling junta has revealed.  —  The most senior official to defect so far …

Giuliani Inspires Threat of a Third-Party Run  —  Alarmed at the possibility that the Republican Party might pick Rudolph W. Giuliani as its presidential nominee despite his support for abortion rights, a coalition of influential Christian conservatives is threatening to back a third-party candidate.

PARODY SURGE HITS MIL CONTRACTORS IN IRAQ  —  A few days ago the State Department released what it called a "first blush" report on the Blackwater incident in Baghdad, a report which largely exonerated the Blackwater personnel involved.  —  I noted at the time that "first blush" …

Mom cuffed, found dead after missing flight  —  (CNN) — An autopsy was planned Monday for a 45-year-old mother of three who died in police custody at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport.  —  Carol Ann Gotbaum was arrested at the airport Friday for alleged disorderly conduct …

The Usual Suspect  —  The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy  —  IN OCTOBER 2002, Osama bin Laden issued a statement in which he analyzed America's inexhaustible number of sins and prescribed ways of repenting for many of them.  The statement was, by the standards of bin Laden's cave encyclicals, unusually coherent.

Rude Giuliani  —  If he wants voters to respect his privacy, he ought to show some respect for basic manners.  —  A lot is going well for Rudy Giuliani's campaign.  His fund raising is strong.  He outstrips his GOP rivals in national polls.  His speeches on taxes and health care were solid.

High Court won't hear church-state cases  —  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court opened its new term Monday refusing to get involved in two church-state disputes — one over religious organizations paying for workers' birth-control health insurance benefits, the other over an evangelical group's plea …

The Peace Corps with Muscles  —  RAMADI, IRAQ - Now that major combat operations are finished almost everywhere in Iraq's Anbar Province, the United States Army and Marine Corps are more like a United Nations peacekeeping force with rules of engagement that allow them to kill if they have to.

McCain: $5M raised, over $2M in debt  —  John McCain will raise about $5 million for the quarter but still show well over $2 million in debt, according to two sources familiar with the internal tally.  —  Though far below what rivals Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani are expected to report …

Attack at US embassy in Vienna thwarted  —  VIENNA, Austria - A Bosnian who tried to enter the U.S. Embassy in Vienna with a backpack filled with explosives, nails and Islamic literature was arrested Monday after the bag set off a metal detector and the man fled on foot, authorities said.

Corzine Sues Bush Over Kids Health Insurance; 7 States Follow Lead  —  A few weeks ago Governor Corzine threatened the Bush administration with legal action over the proposed rule changes to SCHIP which would have left thousands of New Jersey children without health insurance.

Some in Fairfax Public Housing Make Six Figures  —  Hundreds of families living in housing subsidized by Fairfax County taxpayers exceed income caps designed to ensure that only the neediest receive assistance, a review of county records shows.  —  In the most extreme cases …

First Read: Thompson's fundraising struggles  —  Here's something to compare Thompson's money to: the 1st Q numbers of his three main rivals: Romney raised 21.2M; Giuliani raised 16.6M; McCain raised 13M.  —  By comparison, Fred's $7-8M (or even $10 million) this quarter is not great.

Roddy Stinson: Passenger sitting behind soldier reports 'a very moving moment'  —  THE GOOD  —  Last Wednesday, while flying from Phoenix to the Alamo City on U.S. Airways Flight 207, a San Antonio man, Gil Anderson, witnessed something memorable.  —  Shortly before takeoff …

Santorum eyes gubernatorial bud  —  Say it slowly: Gov. Rick Santorum.  —  Interesting concept, isn't it?  —  The former Pennsylvania GOP senator, trounced in his re-election bid last year by seldom-seen Democrat Bob Casey Jr., apparently has grown weary of beating the drums …