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.

HILLARY'S $30,000 FANS ARE HER 'CULT' FOLLOWING  —  A purported pyramid-scheme operator who was run out of Arkansas when Bill Clinton was governor has reinvented himself as the head of an upstate group accused of being a "cult" - and his devotees have pumped thousands into Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential run.

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 …

Gotbaum kin's plea before dying: I'm not a terrorist!  —  BY SOO YOUN in Phoenix and ETHAN ROUEN and ADAM LISBERG in New York  —  The daughter-in-law of one of New York's top officials screamed, "I'm not a terrorist!" and fought with security officials in the Phoenix airport before being wrestled …

Michigan Goes Smoot-Hawley In The Early Morning  —  The economic woes of Michigan appear ready to worsen, thanks to a budget agreement reached this morning as the state government began shutting down.  Michigan residents will see their taxes increase by over a billion dollars …

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 …

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.

Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out  —  Since Clarence Thomas joined the Supreme Court 16 years ago, he has largely remained silent, and his silence has become part of his mythology.  He rarely speaks from the bench.  He hasn't responded to legions of critics.

Podhoretz: 'I Believe Bush Is Going To Order Airstrikes On Iran Before He Leaves Office'  —  Norman Podhoretz, widely reputed as the "godfather" of neoconservatism, has released a new book entitled World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofacism, a strident call for continuing the Bush strategy of preemptive wars.

What We Owe the Burmese  —  An upheaval like the pro-democracy uprising taking place in Burma over the past month tends to shake up certainties that had seemed self-evident.  Certainties such as the primacy of justice.  Or the sanctity of the Olympic Games.

High Court won't hear birth control case  —  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday declined to enter a church-state dispute over whether some religious organizations can be forced to pay for workers' birth-control health insurance benefits, a growing trend in the states.

Election 2008: South Carolina Democratic Primary  —  South Carolina Democrats: Clinton 43% Obama 30%  —  Hillary Clinton has a thirteen point advantage over Barack Obama in South Carolina's Presidential Primary.  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the race shows Clinton …