Defying World, North Koreans Launch Rocket  —  SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea defied the United States, China and a series of United Nations resolutions by launching a rocket on Sunday that the country said was designed to propel a satellite into space, but that much of the world viewed …

Axelrod hits back at Cheney: Not behaving like a ‘statesman’  —  (CNN) — Top Obama adviser David Axelrod sharply criticized Dick Cheney's recent contention that the president's national security policies have made the country less safe, suggesting the former vice president is not behaving like a “statesman.”

The End of Christian America  —  The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades.  How that statistic explains who we are now—and what, as a nation, we are about to become.  —  From the magazine issue dated Apr 13, 2009

California Dems target 8 GOP districts  —  California GOP voter registration is “dropping like a rock,” a new study shows, declining so fast that Democratic Party officials see an unprecedented opportunity to gain voters and House seats in the 2010 election.

Gunmen Kills Three Pittsburgh Police Officers  —  PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) ― A man opened fire on officers during a domestic disturbance call Saturday morning, killing three of them, a police official said.  —  Friends said 23 year-old Richard Poplawski feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns.

Flashback: NYT scolded Clinton for almost bowing to royalty  —  So far, the media has remained entirely silent on Barack Obama's deep-waist bow to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.  They used to defend American protocol a lot more closely, as The Anchoress discovered in doing research on the subject.

GM planning for bankruptcy  —  Fritz Henderson, GM's new president and CEO, said for the first time Sunday that the automaker is planning for the possibility of restructuring within bankruptcy, although he said he still hoped to avoid that public-relations nightmare.

FBI database links long-haul truckers, serial killings  —  The growing database includes more than 500 female victims, most of whom were killed and their bodies dumped at truck stops, motels and other spots along popular trucking routes crisscrossing the U.S.