Thompson Decides To Drop Out  —  Ex-Sen. Fred Thompson has told several Republicans that he has decided to drop out of the presidential race and will make public his intentions by close of business.  —  Thompson does not plan to endorse any rivals for now, even though one of his best friends is Sen. John McCain.

Obama most likely Democrat to unify America  —  THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY in South Carolina this year offers voters an unusual choice.  Earlier votes have winnowed out the most experienced candidates, leaving a field with fewer accomplishments and differences on policy, but including two candidates …

Actor Heath Ledger Is Found Dead  —  The actor Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in an apartment in Manhattan owned by the actress Mary-Kate Olsen, according to the New York City police.  Mr. Ledger was 28.  —  At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A in the building …

Someone Didn't Get The Word  —  Fareed Zakaria: … Ah, those sad, sad, Democrats.  So unaware that the war's over.  The dude who killed at least fourteen and wounded seventeen in Tikrit must, like the Democrats, have been wearing partisan blinders when he failed to acknowledge the surge's success in bringing the war to an end.

Mystery in Brooklyn: Bomb factory at Columbia University professor's home  —  The NY Daily News reports today on a disturbing discovery at a Columbia University instructor's home: … Clatts cannot be located.  Who is he? … The NYTimes reports on a bizarre twist in the case …

OBAMA vs. CLINTON....AGAIN....It's possible — likely, even — that everyone is tired of conversations about whether Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would be more effective if they win the presidency.  That's doubly true since it's essentially unknowable at this point.

Huckabee Broke  —  Less than a month after a huge upset victory, and promises that fundraising would be ramped up, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is asking his senior staff to keep working for him without pay, while lower level campaign staff are seeing their salaries cut dramatically or eliminated altogether.

Why Republicans Fear Obama  —  Columbia, South Carolina — I went to Barack Obama's rally here, on Sunday night, with a Republican friend who had never seen the Illinois senator in action before.  Watching the crowd of more than 3,000 fill up the convention center, watching the people send …

Pre-emptive nuclear strike ‘an option’  —  The west must be ready to resort to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to try to halt the “imminent” spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, according to a radical manifesto for a new Nato by five of the west's most senior military officers and strategists.