IT'S THE BLOOMY-'BAMA SHOW  —  Mayor Bloomberg made a surprise announcement last night that he will introduce Barack Obama when the Illinois senator makes a campaign speech today at Cooper Union.  —  The mayor's office took the highly unusual step of releasing information about the event late last night.

Iraq implodes as Shia fights Shia  —  Another tragedy as the Shia majority turn on each other  —  A new civil war is threatening to explode in Iraq as American-backed Iraqi government forces fight Shia militiamen for control of Basra and parts of Baghdad.  —  Heavy fighting engulfed Iraq's …

Clinton backers warn Pelosi on superdelegate rift  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of prominent Hillary Clinton donors sent a letter to House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday asking her to retract her comments on superdelegates and stay out of the Democratic fight over their role in the presidential race.

NBC-WSJ POLL: NEW CLINTON LOWS  —  From NBC's Chuck Todd  —  As expected, one of the two major Democratic candidates saw a downturn in the latest NBC/WSJ poll, but it's not the candidate that you think.  Hillary Clinton is sporting the lowest personal ratings of the campaign.

Supplier Under Scrutiny on Aging Arms for Afghans  —  Since 2006, when the insurgency in Afghanistan sharply intensified, the Afghan government has been dependent on American logistics and military support in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.  —  But to arm the Afghan forces …

AND THERE HE HO'S AGAIN  —  ‘WICKED’ SPITZER LINKED TO BUSTY BUSTED MADAM'S BIZ  —  Disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been identified as a long-standing client of a second high-priced call-girl ring, The Post has learned.  —  The ex-governor regularly patronized Wicked Models …

PR governor, four Philadelphians charged  —  Puerto Rico's governor and four Philadelphians, including prominent fund-raiser Robert M. Feldman, were charged this morning in San Juan with federal campaign-finance related crimes.  —  The investigation of Gov. Anibal Acevedo-Vila …

Finding Political News Online, the Young Pass It On  —  Senator Barack Obama's videotaped response to President Bush's final State of the Union address — almost five minutes of Mr. Obama talking directly to the camera — elicited little attention from newspaper and television reporters in January.

McCain makes stop in SLC today  —  Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain will make an invitation-only fundraising stop in Salt Lake City at the Grand America Hotel today.  —  Former presidential contender Mitt Romney will accompany McCain to the $1,000-a-person event …

US: Saddam Paid for Lawmakers' Iraq Trip … WASHINGTON (AP) - Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.  —  The three anti-war Democrats made the trip in October 2002 …

Equity Loans as Next Round in Credit Crisis  —  Little by little, millions of Americans surrendered equity in their homes in recent years.  Lulled by good times, they borrowed — sometimes heavily — against the roofs over their heads.  —  Now the bill is coming due.

Silly Season  —  Unlike Barack Obama, Bill Clinton does not believe in “the fierce urgency of now.”  The former President has an exquisitely languid sense of how political time unfurls.  He understands that those moments the political community, especially the media, considers urgent usually aren't.

Public Believes Americans Have Right to Own Guns  —  Nearly three in four say Second Amendment guarantees this right  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A solid majority of the U.S. public, 73%, believes the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the rights of Americans to own guns.

Bob Barr thinking ‘very serious’ thoughts about a presidential race, Iraq, and torture  —  On an Internet site called Anti-War Radio, former Georgia congressman Bob Barr confirmed on Wednesday that he's “very seriously” looking at joining the race for the White House as a Libertarian …

Colombia seizes uranium from leftist guerrillas  —  Colombia said it seized at least 66 pounds (30 kg) of uranium from the country's biggest left-wing rebel group on Wednesday, the first time radioactive material has been linked to the four-decade-old guerrilla war.