ABC News led tonight with the Barbaro story--that he had been put down this morning after feeling discomfort from his recent surgery. I am generally a fan of human interest stories--and I feel an end of broadcast update on Barbaro would have been appropriate--but to lead with that story on the day when the following events occurred is societally irresponsible.

• A pivotal battle in the Iraq war occurred with over 200 insurgents killed in Iraqi national forces providing much of the infantry support.
• Former U.S. Press Secretary Ari Fleischer testified against Dick Cheney's former Chief of Staff Scooter Libby indicating Libby had leaked the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson in 2003 and then lied about the leak to the FBI--in a possibly "high-reaching" scandal.
• In Palestine rival factions Hamas and Fatah reached an historic ceasefire that may pave the way for a solid government and an Israeli/Palestine peace treaty.

I draw the attention to the ABC Barbaro lead-off only because every day stories that really don't matter lead off broadcasts across the world (although the U.S. is the main culprit) while 49,000 people die each and every day from preventable diseases and starvation, genocide and human trafficking continues, and a complex war that will shape the history of the 21st century rages on. Please, please, please--editors in the major news rooms across the United States, show some leadership and show us the news that we should be hearing about.