Morning Buzz

Morning!!! Politics is still dominating the headlines today. What is the endgame for the dems? Can McCain raise enough money? Is Huckabee in-line for the #2 spot on the GOP ticket? Will Florida and Michigan become the re-primary states? Take a look at Raw Politics for the latest...

In other news...troop morale is down in Afghanistan and health officials have admitted that childhood vaccines worsened the health of a girl with autism-like symptoms....PLUS the star of GHOST and DIRTY DANCING, Patrick Swayze, has cancer...so sad!!! SOOO grab your coffee and take a look at today's headlines...

Top Stories
Explosion in Times Square...
New York City police officers and firefighters cordoned off much of Times Square after a small explosion — possibly set off by a human-made device — rocked the front of the Armed Forces Recruiting Station on the traffic island bounded by 43rd and 44th Streets, Seventh Avenue and Broadway around 4 a.m.

Vaccine may have injured girl with autism symptoms....
Government health officials have conceded that childhood vaccines worsened a rare, underlying disorder that ultimately led to autism-like symptoms in a 9-year-old girl, and that she should be paid from a federal vaccine-injury fund.

National dragnet is a click away...
Several thousand law enforcement agencies are creating the foundation of a domestic intelligence system through computer networks that analyze vast amounts of police information to fight crime and root out terror plots.

Troop morale down in Afghanistan...
U.S. troop morale improved in Iraq last year, but soldiers fighting in Afghanistan suffered more depression as violence there worsened, an Army mental health report says.

Border war?
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday called a Colombian raid that killed two dozen rebels in Ecuador a "war crime," and joined Ecuador's president in demanding international condemnation of the cross-border attack.

Raw Politics
Florida & Michigan seek new primary...
Will the recount state become the re-primary state? And will voters in Michigan have their say in picking a Democratic candidate for president?

Dems fear an ugly end to race...
Leading Democrats scrambled Wednesday to prevent the closest, most riveting presidential contest in decades from tearing the party apart, as the odds rose that neither Hillary Rodham Clinton nor Barack Obama could clinch the nomination without angering large blocs of voters.

Obama comes back swinging...
Senator Barack Obama woke up on Wednesday talking of his delegate lead and of taking the fight to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. But after defeats in two of the most populous states, he also sounded like a chastened candidate in search of his lost moment.

Rezko trial begins...
As he paces the courtroom Thursday while delivering his opening statement on behalf of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, attorney Joseph J. Duffy's gentlemanly manner may mask his considerable talent.

Clinton team battling itself...
For the bruised and bitter staff around Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Tuesday's death-defying victories in the Democratic presidential primaries in Ohio and Texas proved sweet indeed. They savored their wins yesterday, plotted their next steps and indulged in a moment of optimism. "She won't be stopped," one aide crowed.

Huckabee ponders future...
Advisers to Mike Huckabee spent yesterday starting to build a conservative coalition that could propel a future run for the White House , hoping to capitalize on the popularity he gained during his unlikely presidential bid.

Crime & Punishment
Jump in homocides a challenge for LAPD...
Homicides in Los Angeles have sharply increased in the first two months of this year, reversing nearly five years of decline and posing a puzzling challenge for Police Chief William J. Bratton.

Student fatally shot...
An Auburn University student was found fatally shot on a highway just before her car was discovered in flames on campus, several miles away.

Keeping Them Honest
F.B.I. investigates missing GOP money...
Hundreds of thousands of dollars are missing and presumed stolen from the chief fund-raising arm of House Republicans, according to party officials who described the findings of emergency internal audits.

What YOU will be talking about TODAY
Patrick Swayze diagnosed with cancer...
Patrick Swayze, who starred in Dirty Dancing and Ghost, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, his doctor says.