The Other Front Page

The amazing (but repetitive) footage that ran all day on cable news stations hypnotized me last week. But once I stepped back a minute from the pictures, I realized that the cable guys were all flash, and no substance. So if you’re like me (“Hey what’s on CNN? Ohhhh . . . Fuzzy . . .”), you may have missed some important stories that are playing out behind the images. Katrina is a disaster in so many ways. In the background, though, other stories - the kind that would be front page material at any other time - are floating out there too. Check ‘em out – no pontification needed:

Katrina
1) FEMA is asking reporters not to show images of the dead
2) Utah Firefighters brought to Louisiana are frustrated that they’re used as props
3) Scott McClellan gets grilled

Iraq
1) Paul Volcker reports on corruption in the U.N.’s Oil For Food Program
2) Iraq's President says that Saddam has confessed to war crimes
3) Saddam's lawyer denies the confession exists
4) A Car bomb kills 16 is Basra
5) U.S. forces liberate an American hostage held for 10 months
6) Zarqawi's forces seize a small town and declare an Islamic republic
7) Guantanamo detainees may have some legal rights

Supreme Court
1) Rehnquist is laid to rest
2) Roberts papers are still in dispute
3) There's another nominee out there somewhere