Stand up. Tongue update. Time travelers.
Houston Chronicle - 9 hours ago By KYRIE O'CONNOR. 1. I was, I confess, slightly disconcerted by Laura Bush's stand-up act at the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday night. Now, I'm thrilled she'd have the gumption to take on that

No new info on hostage: Downer
Daily Telegraph - 1 hour ago THE federal government had no new information on the kidnapping of an Australian man held hostage in Iraq, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today. Mr Downer, speaking from New York after securing a commitment

Israeli cabinet member quits to protest pullback plan
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - 2 hours ago By Laura King, Los Angeles Times. JERUSALEM -- Natan Sharansky, the onetime symbol of oppressed Soviet Jewry, quit his Cabinet post yesterday to protest Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this summer.

Qwest calls it quits
Rocky Mountain News - 25 minutes ago By Jeff Smith, Rocky Mountain News. Qwest Communications bitterly bowed out of the bidding for MCI Inc. on Monday after the Virginia-based long-distance carrier backed a sweetened but much lower $8.44 billion offer from Verizon Communications.

Italy challenges US on shooting
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - 2 hours ago By Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times. ROME -- Italy yesterday sharply challenged a US Army report that had exonerated American soldiers in the shooting death of an Italian intelligence officer near Baghdad.

Morgan Stanley fails to silence rebel campaign over Purcell
Independent - 3 hours ago By Katherine Griffiths in New York. Former executives at Morgan Stanley have refused to call off their campaign to oust the investment banking giant's chief executive Philip Purcell, despite concessions from the board.

Global Nuclear Meeting Opens
ABC News - 29 minutes ago UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan speaks during a conference to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Monday May 2, 2005 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. At a time of growing nuclear tensions

Rice: US Can Deter North Korean Nuclear Ambitions
Voice of America - 7 hours ago By Meredith Buel. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a tough statement aimed at North Korea, says the United States has significant deterrent capability to thwart Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. Secretary

Georgia City May Want Bride to Pay
New York Times - 3 hours ago DULUTH, Ga., May 2 - The runaway bride-to-be who led this Atlanta suburb on an expensive game of hide-and-seek last week may face charges after all, the authorities said, and the city was investigating whether to bill her for the search.

Prisoners abused for 'amusement'
Houston Chronicle - 1 hour ago By JOHN W. GONZALEZ. FORT HOOD - A clique of US soldiers tormented Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison for "amusement," not for any authorized military mission, Pfc. Lynndie England testified Monday as she pleaded guilty to seven abuse-related charges.