STATEMENT OF AIR AMERICA RADIO, FROM CHAIR CHARLIE KIREKER  —  New York - Air America has suspended on-air host Randi Rhodes for making inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Senator Hillary Clinton, at a recent public appearance on behalf of Air America in San Francisco …

Obama is Smokin'  —  Last August, I ran into Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, outside the Senate chamber in the Capitol.  —  This was before the Obama surge, before he had omnipresent Secret Service agents, back when you might see him strolling solo.  —  We chatted for a second …

GOP under fire from everywhere after 9/11 comments  —  WASHINGTON - The California congressman who called the Sept. 11 attacks “simply” a plane crash ran for cover Wednesday under a barrage of ridicule from fellow Republicans, first responders and victims' families.

Al Qaeda #2: We'll Attack Iran  —  Recently, Senator John McCain has repeatedly indicated that Iran and al-Qaeda are in cahoots.  The terror group's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, would beg to differ.  In a long-promised online Q&A session, Zawahiri says it would be “in the interest” …

Obama's $40 Million Haul (And What It Means)  —  UPDATE — 4:15 p.m.: A Clinton campaign source just confirmed to The Fix that the New York Senator collected $20 million in the month of March, roughly half the total amount collected by Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) over the same time frame.

CBS Poll: Views On Economy At All-Time Low  —  CBS/NY Times Poll: Just 14 Percent Of Americans Say The Country Is On The Right Track  —  (CBS) Americans' views on the economy and the general state of the country have hit an all-time low in the history of the CBS News/New York Times poll.

Conyers, Judiciary Members Demand Answers from Attorney General on 9/11 Surveillance  —  Today Members of the Judiciary Committee wrote a letter (pdf) to Attorney General Mukasey regarding recent comments on 9/11 surveillance.  —  From the Judiciary Committee:

In Terms of Geography, Obama Appeals to Academics and Clinton Appeals to Jacksonians  —  In reviewing the maps of the Democratic primary results, in Dave Leip's electoral atlas, I was struck by the narrow geographic base of Barack Obama's candidacy.  In state after state …

John Edwards says would not accept VP nomination  —  LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said on Thursday he would not accept the nomination for U.S. vice president as he did four years ago.  —  Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina …

Ted Turner: Global warming could lead to cannibalism  —  Billionaire environmentalist says world has too many people  —  Failure to address global warming will have us all dead or eating each other by mid-century.  —  So says Ted Turner, the restaurateur, environmentalist …

Heritage  —  It seems that April is Confederate Heritage month.  Why one would want to celebrate a heritage of violent rebellion against a democratically elected government in order to perpetuate a system of chattel slavery is a bit hard for me to say.  —  When I was growing up in New York City …

British Muslims ‘planned to kill thousands by bombing SEVEN transatlantic airliners in one go’  —  A British terror gang plotted to use liquid explosives to blow up transatlantic passenger jets in mid-flight, a court heard today.  —  Eight men planned to smuggle bombs disguised as soft drinks …

Another KBR Rape Case  —  Editor's Note: Lisa Smith is a pseudonym used on request.  Additional reporting by Te-Ping Chen.  Research support provided by the Investigative Fund of The Nation Institute.  —  Houston  —  It was an early January morning in 2008 when 42-year-old Lisa Smith* …

The Patriotism Problem  —  When he was really rolling in February, Barack Obama would close every speech with a peroration about the importance of hope.  The setup always seemed a bit defensive to me — an attack on the pundits and party elders who thought he was too idealistic, a “hopemonger” …