The USA Today reporter turned in a 1,300 word pool report from Israel today, which beats even some of Joe Curl's long pool reports. That's on top of a 1,234 word pool report and 1,213 word pool report he filed earlier.

Could Levinson pull a Mark Silva while abroad?!?. Actually Silva himself is also travelling with the president and turned in a 1,000 worder earlier, setting up what we hope will be a delicious Silva-Levinson Word Count Competition.

(Also note that Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb has taken the buyout. So, too, we hear has Athelia Knight).

Then the WaPo wants you! The Post's Pam Kendrick sent out this announcement to staffers today:

With Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb's decision to accept the early retirement offer, we are seeking a skilled editor to succeed her as Obituaries Editor.

Replacing Yvonne will not be easy. She did an exceptional job, raising the quality of our obituaries, introducing innovations in print and online, and managing a staff through a relentless workload.

Qualifications for the position include: A love for the craft of the well-told obituary; impeccable reporting and writing skills; deep knowledge about a host of subjects; a competitive streak; a passion for history and biography; and the capacity to deal effectively and compassionately with the public.

The Obituaries Editor, while reporting and writing obits, supervises a team of experienced reporters. The duties include assigning and editing stories, scheduling, doing staff evaluations, and coordinating with the News Desk, the Metro Copy Desk, other sections, the Photo Desk and WPNI editors. Previous editing experience is preferred but not a prerequisite.

Our policy on obits makes The Post unique in the industry. In addition to reporting on the deaths of the well-known, we will do an obituary on anyone who has lived a substantial portion of his or her life in the Washington region. Obituaries are the news stories that bring The Post into the most intimate contact with its readers.

We are looking for someone with an editor's eye and a reporter's zest, someone who can move the paper further along in its quest to deliver the best news obituaries anywhere. We plan to fill this job internally.

Check out the job description on mediabistro.com's jobs board.

Washington Post: This Is an Ex-Candidate

Washington Times: Rumor mill keeps Obama on defense

Washington Examiner: Blog - Yeas and Nays

N.Y. Times: Robert Rauschenberg, American Artist, Dies at 82

L.A. Times: At 25, Justine Henin says she's quitting tennis

USA Today: Lifeline Live Blog: Entertainment News & Rumors

Politico: Bush warns of Iraq disaster

ABC News: The Jacksons: Bellbottoms to Rock Bottom

CBS News: Obama Defeat Signals Race, Rural Problems

Fox News: Britain Opens Up Secret UFO Files

CNN: Thai PM: Myanmar does not want foreign help

Wall Street Journal: New Sites Make It Easier to Spy on Friends

MSNBC: Troops rush to plug 'dangerous' cracks in dam

Congressional Quarterly: GOP Slips McCain's GI Bill Alternative into Play on Senate Floor

Earlier we told you that ABC News has already charged staff with monitoring the movements of possible VP candidates for Sen. John McCain.

Now, we've got the reporters' names:

Mike Huckabee -- Kevin Chupka
Mitt Romney -- Matt Stuart
Condi Rice -- Kirit Radia

Charlie Crist -- Jan Simmonds
Mark Sanford -- Jan Simmonds
Tom Ridge -- Jan Simmonds

Tim Pawlenty -- Christine Byun
Jeb Bush -- Christine Byun
Rob Portman -- Christine Byun

John Cornyn -- Zach Wolf
John Thune -- Zach Wolf
Kay Bailey Hutchinson -- Zach Wolf

Bobby Jindal -- Kate McCarthy
Sonny Perdue -- Kate McCarthy
Jon Huntsman -- Kate McCarthy

He tells the Politico:

"It's two things really," Broder said. "First of all, the paper is like every other paper--feeling the squeeze. And this does get me off the newsroom budget. That is one reason. The other reason is that it's a generous buyout offer."

Drudge calls it the 'end of an era.'

Side note: Does the Politico just randomly add unrelated links to Drudge-linked posts just to stir up more traffic?

Click on the papers below to see full images.

continued...

Check it out here.

And it is accompanied by this "Message from the Editor":

A Message From the Editor For more than 50 years Roll Call has been your No. 1 source for accurate and nonbiased news, scoops, compelling analysis and behind-the-scenes stories about the Capitol Hill community. Now, Roll Call Group is pleased to unveil a greatly improved RollCall.com, complete with a variety of new features and tools. I'd like to tell you about five new things we're doing at RollCall.com, leading off with 'First Draft,' your backstage pass to Capitol Hill. RollCall.com will take you behind the scenes with 'First Draft,' our up-to-the-minute report on the House, Senate and political campaigns. This unique service is brought to you by a dedicated team of reporters and editors, who will tell you what's happening backstage as Senate leaders negotiate off the floor and as the House agenda evolves. Second, we're going mobile. Now you can always access a mobile-friendly version when you go to www.rollcall.com. Third, Roll Call video. We will offer a rich variety of new video features to keep you on top of developments on the Hill and in the pages of our newspaper, including 'Power Lunch,' a noon update on the news, and advice on what to watch for from our Web editor, Rachel Van Dongen. You can also access the latest Roll Call staff appearances on C-SPAN every Monday and Thursday morning, as well as 'Roll Call TV with Robert Traynham,' our weekly show airing on Comcast's CN-8. Be sure to watch for the video version of our popular Heard on the Hill column, which will air each Wednesday, and lots more. Fourth, we'll offer daily podcasts featuring insights on each day's newspaper and other important news, more from Heard on the Hill, and a regular Politics feature. Fifth, RollCall.com fully integrates the Group's content, allowing subscribers to move between Roll Call and CongressNow, our legislative wire service, and to capture legislative data from GalleryWatch. All of this valuable material is now at your fingertips. I'd also like to introduce Roll Call's Briefing Room, our new centralized intelligence and document service produced by analysts tracking policy developments. I hope you'll take a few minutes to explore RollCall.com, and please let us know what you think.

Charlie Mitchell Editor-in-Chief Roll Call Group

earlier: "Is Downie...Gone?!?"

Erik Wemple heard similar rumors and called Downie last night:

Last night, Washington City Paper called Downie to ask about this big, huge, major announcement on Thursday. His response: "There's no announcement coming on Thursday."

Maybe Friday?

One Postie tells us that the bottom is that Downie's gone, regardless of when (within a few months, at the latest most likely). The only real question is who will succeed him and the fact that Katharine Weymouth hasn't found a replacement may explain why Downie's still around.

>UPDATE: Michael Calderone speculates on who might replace Downie and check out FishbowlDC's earlier speculation on that subject.

This is a friendly call for reader tips / emails / notes on the inner-workings of your news organization for our "Revolving Door" feature.

Who's leaving?

Who just arrived?

Who's switching beats?

Let us know by emailing us at fishbowldc AT mediabistro DOT com or dropping a line in the tips box.

Remember Jim VandeHei's note to Politico employees, begging them to dress better? We hear that the offending parties were Jonathan Martin (flip-flops), Sam Lowenberg (flowing chest hair) and David Paul Kuhn (see through shirts).

That's a big rumor in the Washington Post's newsroom right now. There's a lot of buzz about a big announcement that's expected to land Thursday -- deadline day for filing buyout paperwork, by the way -- and the prevailing rumor is that it has something to do with Len Downie finally announcing that he's leaving.

Posties, drop us a line or note in our tips box:

>UPDATE: Erik Wemple heard similar rumors and called Downie last night:

Last night, Washington City Paper called Downie to ask about this big, huge, major announcement on Thursday. His response: "There's no announcement coming on Thursday."

Maybe Friday?

Good morning Washington. Congrats to Wash Times photographer Michael Connor and his wife Nicole, who had their first child on 5/1. Grace Connor weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz. and everyone is healthy and resting at their home in Annapolis.

Quickly navigate Morning Reading List:

NEWSPAPERS | TV | ONLINE MEDIA | MAGAZINES | RADIO | WEST WING REPORTAGE | JOBS