U.S. death toll in Iraq hits 4,000  —  Grim milestone reached when IED kills 4 U.S. soldiers in Baghdad  —  BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in Baghdad on Sunday, the military said, pushing the overall American death toll in the five-year war to at least 4,000.

Both Obama And Clinton Embellish Their Roles  —  After weeks of arduous negotiations, on April 6, 2006, a bipartisan group of senators burst out of the “President's Room,” just off the Senate chamber, with a deal on new immigration policy.  —  As the half-dozen senators — including John McCain …

Obama Nation (Interlude)...  Cross posted from Pull On Superman's Cape.  —  In these next few months there will be troubled waters.  —  There are many, many things to say.  Some are very difficult to say.  Perhaps it is a good time to have a national conversation.

JPMorgan in Negotiations to Raise Bear Stearns Bid  —  JPMorgan Chase was in talks on Sunday night for a deal that would quintuple its offer for Bear Stearns, the beleaguered investment bank, in an effort to pacify angry Bear shareholders, according to people involved in the negotiations.

EASTER MASS ATTACK!!  Protesters Scream & Spray Fake Blood at Churchgoers  —  NOT JUST ANTIWAR...  Leftist Protesters Attack Catholic Worshippers at Easter Mass in Chicago  —  The Progressives squirted fake blood around on the Catholics attending Easter Mass this morning.!!

Turkish ruling party cracks down on free press  —  An e-mail from a Turkish professor: … As a Turkish journalist points out in a private e-mail, for all the talk within the State Department of Prime Minister Erdogan and his Islamist-leaning party as representing democracy …

Taming the Beast  —  We're now in the midst of an epic financial crisis, which ought to be at the center of the election debate.  But it isn't.  —  Now, I don't expect presidential campaigns to have all the answers to our current crisis — even financial experts are scrambling to keep up with events.

L.A. Times Has Hit Piece on McCain — Which Resurrects the Old Canards About Ties Between Saddam and Al Qaeda  —  The L.A. Times saves space on its Sunday front page for a hit piece on John McCain.  The main thrust of the piece is to say, in essence, “Nyaah, nyaah, John McCain said that Iraq would be a cakewalk, but it wasn't.”

Cigarette display ban considered  —  Displaying cigarettes in shops could be banned in England under government plans being considered to cut smoking and discourage children from starting.  —  Ministers are also considering tougher controls on vending machines in pubs and restaurants.

Obama: ‘This is not a crackpot church’  —  Carrie Budoff Brown sends over the transcript from Obama's appearance, airing tomorrow, on the Michael Smerconish Show on 1210 AM WPHT in Philadelphia, from audio the show provided.  —  In the interview, Obama says he's talked to Wright in the past about …