Today's Top Five

1. Deadly riots continue in Nigeria
Mobs of Christian youths, armed with clubs, machetes, and gas cans, beat several Muslims to death in the southern Nigerian city of Onitsha and set fire to two mosques. The rioting, which began yesterday and continued today, has left at least 20 people dead, Reuters reports. At least 39 people were taken to the hospital. A Red Cross official told Reuters, "Thousands of people who have been displaced from their homes are now sheltered at the police and army barracks." The violence comes as Muslim attacks, largely tied to outrage over the Muhammad caricatures, have left at least 50 people dead in Nigeria's northern cities. The attacks come a day after a dark statement from Church of Nigeria Archbishop Peter Akinola, in which he told "our Muslim brothers that they do not have the monopoly of violence in this nation" and that groups such as the Christian Association of Nigeria (which he leads) "may no longer be able to contain our restive youths should this ugly trend continue." It will be interested to see whether that message is seen as prescient or provocative, insightful or inciting.

2. Supreme Court to consider partial birth abortion ban
In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against Nebraska's partial-birth abortion ban. When a federal version of the ban was written in 2003, lawmakers specifically addressed the Court's concerns in that case. However, three federal appeals courts have struck down the 2003 law, saying that it does not have ample protections for the mother's health (the issue at the heart of the 2000 decision). Yesterday, the Supreme Court said it will hear the case, Gonzales v . Carhart (05-380), in its next term, which starts in October.

3. Supreme Court unanimously ...