But that’s just me.

CNN and I don’t have a great relationship. There were the good early years while I was a young coed, when John King dreamily gave me the latest on the Lewinsky scandal (presidential scandals were so adorable then). But then I noticed that CNN was “that” kind of relationship – the one that makes a huge deal of nothing for hours at a time, while still ignoring red flags popping up faster than a Whack-a-Mole. CNN and I broke up a while back, after I became older and wiser, turning from the young flashy cable news networks to the trustier NY Times, Wash Post and BBC. They're still pretty in the morning without their make-up.

Today, in the midst of international chaos, I checked in to see what CNN chose to run on its front page. Amid some timid reporting in the Middle East, was this:

Publicist: Hasselhoff was sick, not drunk

Ohhh, CNN. You never fail to disappoint. Some stories that I might have chosen to run on the front page, that CNN buries under the Hoff, or doesn’t report at all:

N. Korea-Iran Ties Seem to Be Growing Stronger
SEOUL — North Korea and Iran, two fiercely anti-American regimes, appear to be bolstering their military and diplomatic cooperation, including the possible sale of missiles to the Tehran government, intelligence sources said.

U.S. Says It Knew of Pakistani Reactor Plan
The Bush administration acknowledged yesterday that it had long known about Pakistan's plans to build a large plutonium-production reactor, but it said the White House was working to dissuade Pakistan from using the plant to expand its nuclear arsenal. The reactor, which reportedly will be capable of producing enough plutonium for as many as 50 bombs each year, was brought to light on Sunday

(And coincidentally...)

House, 359-68, Approves U.S.-India Nuclear Deal
The House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to allow U.S. shipments of civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India, handing President Bush a victory on one of his top foreign policy initiatives. Rep. Tom Lantos said the proposal, which reverses decades of U.S. anti-proliferation policy, is "a tidal shift in relations between India and the United States."

(And how do we treat one of our few international allies? Oh well, at least we still have Israel. --smacks forehead-- )

US rejects weapon flight concerns
The White House has dismissed UK concerns about the use of Prestwick Airport, in Scotland, by US planes carrying bombs to Israel. … UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett protested to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, claiming procedures were ignored. Mrs Beckett said: "We have already let the United States know that this is an issue that appears to be seriously at fault, and we will be making a formal protest if it appears that that is what has happened."