Fox Special Report (4/14, story, Hume) reported, "Former president Jimmy Carter and former vice president Al Gore reportedly are planning to team up in a call to Hillary Clinton to end her presidential race. The Scotsman newspaper published in Scotland says the two men have been in discussions and said to believe the prolonged battle is hurting the Democratic Party. The paper claims that they may ask Senator Clinton in private to bow out or they may publicly endorse Barack Obama in hopes that other super delegates will follow."

FIXATED ON OBAMA STATEMENTS PRESS IGNORES STORY ON BUSH APPROVAL OF TORTURE TECHNIQUES: Last Wednesday, ABC News reported that, beginning in 2002, top officials in the White House specifically approved torture techniques, including waterboarding. On Friday, President Bush admitted that he, too, was aware of and approved the discussions. Yet the White House press corps has yet to ask the White House spokesmen a single question on the issue in the three briefings held since the story broke. Reporters did, however, find time to cover the Little League tee-ball all-star game and the President’s weekend plans to clear brush at his Crawford ranch. Yesterday, the Washington Post's Dan Froomkin noted that the mainstream media is treating ABC's torture story as old news: "There was no mention of Bush's admission in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal or the Los Angeles Times. There was nothing on the major wire services. And nothing on CNN, CBS or NBC," he wrote. [From the Progress Report]