Defeated Socialists search for scapegoats  —  Let the finger-pointing begin.  Ségolène Royal's defeat on Sunday night left the French Socialist party in disarray and searching for someone to blame.  There is hardly a shortage of scapegoats.  —  It is the party's third consecutive presidential defeat.

Newspaper Suicide: The Star Tribune Kills Lileks' Column  —  Let's see.  Your circulation is crashing.  The value of your paper has plummeted.  Everyone in the industry recognizes that the the future is online, and most realize that the byline has become the brand and that writers …

Bring them home  —  Iraqis need political reconciliation, not occupation; and U.S. troops shouldn't referee a civil war.  —  WHATEVER THE future holds, the United States has not "lost" and cannot "lose" Iraq.  It was never ours in the first place.  And however history will judge the war …

Congress considers broadening Justice Department inquiry  —  WASHINGTON - Congressional investigators are beginning to focus on accusations that a top civil rights official at the Justice Department illegally hired lawyers based on their political affiliations, especially for sensitive voting rights jobs.

California Gains Clout With Earlier Primary  —  When Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, finished a speech on foreign policy recently in Northern California, he was surrounded by reporters who wanted to ask about another topic: global warming and how it was contributing to the state's water shortage.

CBS's Late Bloomer  —  NEW YORK—Byron Pitts was chatting with students at a Harlem charter school the day before a recent visit by President Bush when the CBS correspondent had a realization: They viewed him as just another empty suit who couldn't possibly understand their problems.  Little did they know.

Bots on The Ground  —  In the Field of Battle (Or Even Above It), Robots Are a Soldier's Best Friend  —  The most effective way to find and destroy a land mine is to step on it.  —  This has bad results, of course, if you're a human.  But not so much if you're a robot and have as many legs …

Flavoring Suspected in Illness  —  Calif. Considers Banning Chemical Used in Microwave Popcorn  —  SOUTH GATE, Calif. — She was once in constant motion; her co-workers compared her to a roadrunner because of the way she darted around the workplace.  But now Irma Ortiz sits at the edge of her couch …