what i've been up to

A few recent stories:

• The stench of death and devastation hung in the air of Fallujah early today, as U.S. troops launched new air and artillery strikes to root out remaining pockets of resistance
  
• The toll in Fallujah is bloody. At least 18 Americans have died in the four-day-old assault on the Sunni insurgent stronghold, and 178 have been wounded.
  
• Olympic swimming sensation Michael Phelps was drowning in criticism from his coach and fans last night after being busted for drunken driving in Maryland.
  
• James Patterson's fans brushed aside allegations yesterday that the best-selling novelist pilfered ideas for steamy sex scenes from an ex-girlfriend. "It adds to his mystery, his appeal," one said.
  
• Two men working on a Long Island home were hit by 7,600 volts of electricity yesterday when their scaffold touched a live wire, killing one and critically injuring the other, cops said.
  
• Insurgents have grabbed three relatives of Iraq's prime minister from their Baghdad home and are threatening to behead them unless troops withdraw from Fallujah.
  
• The top UN nuclear inspector said yesterday the world was in a "race against time" to prevent a nuclear terrorist attack. "The threat of nuclear terrorism is real and current," said Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency.