Poll: Clinton, Obama neck and neck in Hoosier state  —  Obama is choice for 81 percent of black Democratic primary voters.  —  Sen. Barack Obama has a huge lead among younger voters in Indiana, Sen. Hillary Clinton holds the same lead with voters older than 60, and both candidates …

More Than 1,000 in Iraq's Forces Quit Basra Fight  —  BAGHDAD — More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen either refused to fight or simply abandoned their posts during the inconclusive assault against Shiite militias in Basra last week, a senior Iraqi government official said Thursday.

81% in Poll Say Nation Is Headed on the Wrong Track  —  Americans are more dissatisfied with the country's direction than at any time since the New York Times/CBS News poll began asking about the subject in the early 1990s, according to the latest poll.  —  In the poll, 81 percent of respondents …

New Signs of Mugabe Crackdown in Zimbabwe  —  Zimbabwe's government staged separate police raids on Thursday against the main opposition party, foreign journalists and at least one democracy advocate, raising the specter of a broad crackdown aimed at keeping the country's imperiled leaders in power.

Air America Host Randi Rhodes Suspended For Calling Hillary A “Big F*cking Whore”  —  Air America host Randi Rhodes called both Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton “whores” in a recent appearance, seen below.  Rhodes, who hosts a weekday radio show on Air America, said to the cheering crowd, “What a whore Geraldine Ferraro is!

Dangerous assumptions  —  Roger Pielke, Jr1, Tom Wigley2 & Christopher Green3  — Roger Pielke Jr is in the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0488, USA.  — Christopher Green is in the Department of Economics, McGill University, Montreal H3A 2T7, Canada.

McCain, Clinton Head to Memphis for MLK Anniversary  —  Laura Meckler and Nick Timiraos report on the presidential race.  —  Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton, possible opponents in the fall campaign, will both be in Memphis Friday to mark the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. …

Why doesn't the 9/11 Commission know about Mukasey's 9/11 story?  —  (Updated below with response from Philip Zelikow -  —  Update II - Update III -  —  Update IV -Chairman Conyers demands answers from Mukasey)  —  Last week, during a question-and-answer session following a speech …

Clinton Adviser's Colombia Talks  —  Penn Met to Discuss Free-Trade Pact  —  Fought by Senator  —  Hillary Clinton's chief campaign strategist met with Colombia's ambassador to the U.S. on Monday to discuss a bilateral free-trade agreement, a pact the presidential candidate opposes.

McCain Holds Off on Secret Service Protection  —  Weeks after clinching the Republican presidential nomination, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) still has no Secret Service protection and has not requested it, the head of the agency told Congress yesterday.  —  Director Mark Sullivan …

Absolut arrogance and the advertising agency behind the reconquista ad  —  You know what has been heartening the past two days as reaction to the Absolut Reconquista ad continues to pour in?  The fact that so many of you still take our sovereignty seriously and are willing to give voice to your concerns without apologizing for it.

A Flush Obama Campaign Pulls Out All the Stops  —  What does $40 million a month buy a presidential candidate?  A whole lot of airtime and office space.  —  Sen. Barack Obama's copious cash flow means he can compete as aggressively in the final Democratic contests as he did in the early days of the primary campaign.