To the Point

Olmert Visits the US to Sell His 'Convergence Plan'

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is at the White House today asking US support for his unilateral pull-out from parts of the West Bank. Meantime, in the Palestinian Territories, Israel staged the dramatic arrest of a Hamas leader, even though Hamas has not attacked Israel for 15 months. Militant Ibrahim Hamed is accused of masterminding suicide bombings in Jerusalem. This, Will Olmert's plan fly with President Bush? What about the "road map?" Is Israel trying to establish permanent boundaries on its own? Are Hamas and Fatah on the verge of civil war? We hear from journalists in Israel, the US, Jews and Palestinians, and a Clinton-Administration State Department official, who oversaw affairs in the Middle East. Making News: Regulators Blast Fannie Mae's Accounting ManipulationThe lending giant Fannie Mae will have to pay fines of $400 million for manipulating accounting rules to deceive investors and give executives millions in undeserved bonuses. Tim Annett writes the Daily News Analysis Column for the Wall Street Journal Online.Reporter's Notebook: Senator Lieberman Forced into Primary FightConnecticut's Joseph Lieberman says he's ready to fight, but this can't be a fight the former vice-presidential nominee was hoping for. After 28 years in the Senate, he's been re-nominated by the Democratic Party, but still faces a primary challenge from a very wealthy opponent. Ned Lamont, an opponent of the war in Iraq, has invested a million dollars of his own money to campaign for the August election, as Mark Pazniokas writes in the Hartford Courant.