INTERNATIONAL
US to politely ask if they can see N. Korea's nukes The U.S. Navy will step up patrols of North Korean ships suspected of carrying nuclear material; however, they won't board the ships, just kinda stop 'em and harass 'em a little. The North Koreans have said that forcibly stopping and inspecting one of their ships would be considered an act of war. So what's was President Obama's genius plan? Stop ships then politely ask permission to board and inspect 'em. Yeah, that'll work for reals. If there's one thing North Korea responds to, it's polite requests.

NATIONAL
Obama makes health care pitch

President Obama was in Chicago yesterday pitching his health care reforms before the American Medical Association, a tough critic of health care reform. Yeah, paying for these ambitious plans will be expensive, but the president confronted that head on in his speech: " “The cost of inaction is greater,” Obama said. Umm, greater than what? No one has any idea what any of the half-baked proposals would actually cost. Obama didn't give doctors the one thing they wanted most: a cap on malpractice lawsuit payouts, but he did agree to curb them.

INTERNATIONAL
ICC to charge former Congo VP
Congo's former vice president, Jean-Pierre Bemba, will be charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court. The Congo fought a bloody civil war during the early part of the decade, a conflict that eventually drew in countries from across Africa giving it the name "Africa's World War." Bemba lead a rebel group during the conflict, and like many rebel groups, is accused of using rape as a weapon of war. The war finally came to an end when warlords were guaranteed positions in the government, creating a power-sharing deal with some pretty unsavory characters. Well peace agreement be damned; the ICC is coming for those thugs.