Here's Donny!  In His Defense, a Show Is Born  —  WASHINGTON, April 18 — It has become a daily ritual, the defense of the defense secretary, complete with praise from serving generals, tributes from the president and, from the man on the spot, doses of charm, combativeness and even some humility.

Palestinian militants threaten to attack Jews abroad  —  GAZA, April 17 (Reuters) - Palestinian militants linked to President Mahmoud Abbas's increasingly fractured Fatah movement threatened on Monday to attack Jews overseas to force Israel to release Palestinian prisoners from its jails.

Moving to the Right  —  Brit Hume's Path Took Him From Liberal Outsider to The Low-Key Voice of Conservatism on Fox News  —  It was a different era, a different administration and a very different Brit Hume.  —  Thirty-six years ago, as a long-haired reporter for columnist Jack Anderson …

Courage And Treason  —  These are two words that get thrown around quite a bit on the right.  And given some recent news, I'd like to explore them.  —  See, the Pulitzer Prizes were awarded and guess what?  The NY Times reporters who broke the warrantless wiretapping story won a Pulitzer.

Angry/negative people can be bad for your brain  —  Everyone's favorite A-list target, Robert Scoble, announced the unthinkable a few days ago: he will be moderating his comments.  But what some people found far more disturbing was Robert's wish to make a change in his life that includes steering clear of …

China's Rising Need for Oil Is High on U.S. Agenda  —  WASHINGTON, April 18 — The competition for access to oil is emerging high on the agenda for President Hu Jintao's visit to the White House this week.  President Bush has called China's growing demand for oil one reason for rising prices …

China Hopes Hu Makes Good Impression  —  The president lacks the spontaneity of his predecessors.  But officials know the image he projects on U.S. visit could pay dividends.  —  BEIJING — Visiting Chinese leaders in the past have warmed American hearts by donning cowboy hats …

McKinney report cites assault with 'closed fist'  —  The official police report on Rep. Cynthia McKinney's clash with a Capitol Hill police officer three weeks ago says the DeKalb County congresswoman struck the officer "in his chest with [a] closed fist."  —  The "event report" …

Broad based rally for European bourses  —  European equities extended their early gains by mid-morning in a broadly-based rally on Wednesday following strong overnight gains on Asia and Wall Street, prompted by the latest minutes of the Federal Reserve which suggested that rising US interest rates were coming to an end.

News outlets resist Scooter Libby subpoenas  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former White House aide fighting perjury charges should not get access to reporters' notes and other newsroom material because they have no relevance to his case, several news outlets told a U.S. judge on Tuesday.

Mexico Harsh to Undocumented Migrants  —  TULTITLAN, Mexico - Considered felons by the government, these migrants fear detention, rape and robbery.  Police and soldiers hunt them down at railroads, bus stations and fleabag hotels.  Sometimes they are deported; more often officers simply take their money.

British brigadier attacks America's John Wayne generals  —  A senior British officer has criticised "shoulder-holster" American generals for trying to emulate film stars.  —  Brig Alan Sharpe, who worked alongside Americans in Baghdad, said there was a "strong streak of Hollywood" …

With Friends Like These . . .  WITH A LAND mass similar to Maryland's, Equatorial Guinea has the fortune to be Africa's third-largest oil producer.  The money from black gold helps to explain how the president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, has bought large homes in France and Morocco …

They're Closing in on Pinch!  —  The New York Times shareholders' mutiny.  —  The Twilight of the Sulzbergers?  The Class A shareholders are closing in on Pinch.  According to TheStreet.com: … That seems at least as much of a revolt as six retired generals calling for Rumsfeld's resignation, no?

Bush, After Some Changes, Vows More Coming  —  WASHINGTON - Under pressure to revitalize his administration, President Bush reshuffled his economic team Tuesday with a new budget chief who is highly regarded on Capitol Hill and promised more changes were coming.  He also named a new trade representative.

Germany to open new Holocaust records  —  WASHINGTON  —  Germany agreed Tuesday to clear the way for the opening of Nazi records on some 17 million Jews and enslaved laborers who were persecuted and slain by the Nazis and their collaborators more than 60 years ago during the Holocaust.

US and China need strong institutions  —  This week, George W. Bush, the US president, meets Hu Jintao, his Chinese counterpart, during the first US visit by a Chinese head of state since 1997.  As the authors of an important recent study remark: "The US-China relationship is too big to disregard and too critical to misread".