To the Point

Dan Rather Steps Down

First, Tom Brokaw retired from NBC. Tonight, although he will continue to be a reporter, Dan Rather steps down from the CBS anchor chair after a journalistic scandal. Since last year-s story about President Bush and the National Guard turned out to be based on documents that could not be verified, many conservative have tried to undermine Rather's credibility with websites like RatherBiased.com. Now, with ABC-s Peter Jennings the only one left of the Big Three, the times are changing for broadcast news. Can mainstream media restore the credibility of 24 years ago, when Dan Rather replaced Walter Cronkite, then called -the most trusted man in America?- We look at the role of Internet bloggers as media watchdogs and sources of real news with veteran journalists and the first blogger accepted by the White House press corps. Making News: Lebanon-s President Lahoud to Form a New Government In Damascus, Syria today, 500,000 demonstrators turned out to support President Bashar Assad in an event reportedly organized by the Baath Party. At the White House, President Bush insisted anew that Syria withdraw all troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon. Meantime in Beirut, Lebanon-s parliament has nominated pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karami to succeed himself in the office he resigned from last week. Rami Khouri of Beirut-s English-language newspaper, The Daily Star, connects the dots. Reporter-s Notebook: Terror Suspects Buying Firearms Legally in the United States Dozens of suspects are now on the Justice Department-s watch list as part of the war on terror, but that-s not stopping them from buying guns--all according to federal law. Eric Lichtblau reports in the New York Times that dozens of suspects have been allowed to buy guns, even though they-re on the watch list established as part of the war on terror.