The John Edwards affair acquires a St. Louis connection: Former Post-Dispatch online community editor Virginia "Pigeon" O'Brien, who says she is a friend of Edwards mistress Rielle Hunter, has been interviewed by FoxNews and CBS' The Early Show this week.

O'Brien disputes Edwards' claims about the timing of the affair, telling the Early Show's Maggie Rodriguez it began in "February, March of '06".

A Kansas City Star blog has a recap of the Early Show appearance , as does philly.com .

Government investigators were still weeks away from possible charges against Bruce Ivins, the government biodefense researcher who had become the main suspect in the anthrax letter attacks of 2001. Some evidence points to Ivins, who committed suicide last week, but other key links are missing. Former Sen. Tom Daschle, a target of one of the letters, was among those who said the invetigation had long been flawed. Read the New York Times story.

Unique genetic signature of the anthrax led to singling out Ivins. Read the Los Angeles Times story. 

The former U.S. attorney general appears relaxed and good humored but subject to exasperation as the House Judiciary Committee probes the genesis and evolution of Bush administration efforts to extract intelligence from suspected terrorists. (Photo from the Office of the Attorney General)

The markets seemed to react favorably to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's reassurances that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "in no danger of failing." Shares of the troubled mortgage financing firms closed strong Wednesday, after Bernanke testified at a congressional hearing about their financial stability.

Because of concerns of "stiffness in the controls," the pilot of the plane carrying Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama put down in St. Louis this morning. The candidate used the stop to unveil an economic plan that includes stimulus and tax cuts. 

The General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, said the Air Force made errors in awarding a huge aerial tanker contract to Northrup Grumman and a European partner. Boeing, which lost out on the deal, had protested the decision. The GAO recommends that bidding be reopened. Boeing's defense division is based in St. Louis, though the work would be done elsewhere.

Three of the 10 Wisconsin dams that failed or were compromised Monday have not been inspected since 1993, state records show.

Another dam that was overflowed, the Fall River Dam on the Crawfish River in Columbia County, has not received a full inspection in nearly nine years.