The deadly fighting between Iraqi troops and Shiite militias rages on.  1, 2, 3…  The U.S. military is under orders to count its arsenal of nuclear weapons after a shipping fiasco.  The Dems reveal their own plans to revive the U.S. economy, if elected.  The L.A. Times is apologizing to Sean “Diddy” Combs after a reporting snafu.  And, should gold flow from the fountain of youth? Here’s your Afternoon Buzz:  

Top Stories
Dozens killed as Iraq fighting rages 
42 people were killed Thursday in Kut, southeast of Baghdad, Iraq’s Interior Ministry said, the latest casualties in three days of clashes between militias and Iraqi security forces.

Pentagon: Inventory ordered on all U.S. nukes 
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has formally ordered the Air Force, Navy and Defense Logistics Agency to conduct an inventory of all U.S. nuclear weapons.

Bear Stearns CEO sells stake 
Bear Stearns, Co. Chairman James Cayne on Thursday sold his holdings in the embattled investment bank ahead of its expected acquisition by JP Morgan Chase.

Raw Politics
Dems go after McCain on the economy 
Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on Thursday laid out their proposals to reinvigorate the economy as they attacked Sen. John McCain’s plan as ineffective.

McCain, Romney campaign together 
In a show of Republican unity, one-time bitter foes John McCain and Mitt Romney raised money and campaigned together Thursday in… 

Senator calls for sweeping election reform 
Sen. Bill Nelson on Thursday proposed an overhaul of U.S. presidential election laws, saying the dispute over delegates in Florida and Michigan has exposed a flawed nominating system

360 Follow
Family seeks $8 million over airport death 
The family of a New York woman who died in police custody at the Phoenix airport in September filed an $8 million claim against the city Wednesday, the first step in filing a wrongful death suit.

Arrest made in hoax Craiglist baby ad 
Police arrested a Dallas man Wednesday afternoon on a charge of placing an advertisement on Craigslist offering an infant for sale, although he never had an infant in his care.

Boyfriend of woman on toilet arrested 
A man whose girlfriend sat on a toilet for so long that the seat adhered to her body has been arrested in a separate case.

Crime & Punishment
Police: Mom shots kids, carries gun on campus 
A mother killed her two children Thursday and then went to the nearby college she attended and brandished a gun before handing the weapon to a health counselor, police said.

Who’s is stealing iPhones? 
Two men are facing charges of stealing hundreds of iPhones from a Salem, New Hampshire Apple store and reselling them.

What YOU will be TALKING about TONIGHT
L.A. Times apologizes for Piddy-Tupac story 
The Los Angeles Times apologized for using documents that were apparently fabricated in a story implicating associates of Sean “Diddy” Combs in a 1994 assault on rapper Tupac Shakur.

Golden facial 
Spa strikes gold with 24-carat facial

Yes, Running can make you high 
The runner’s high: Every athlete has heard of it, most seem to believe in it and many say they have experienced it. But for years…