Are American 18- to 24-Year-Olds Geographically Challenged?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Witness Wavering?

The stripper who has accused three Duke lacrosse players of raping her now says she wishes she never said anything to begin with according to her father — who tells FOX News' Megyn Kendall his daughter is doing "pretty good" right now, but fears for her safety after receiving death threats.

He also revealed that Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong — struggling to hold on to his star witness — called him last week and asked him to encourage his daughter to "hang in there." The father says, however, he's still unsure his daughter will testify.

Interested in More Than Immigration?

The protesters who swelled yesterday's pro-immigration rallies across the country weren't there only to support illegal immigrants. In Denver, one protester held up a sign saying: "Impeach and decapitate this anti-democratic, lying, lawless, fascist Bush..."

Another said, "Deport 12 million Republicans." In Seattle, one sign read: "Dump the U.S. flag. The U.S. flag is nothing more than notches on a bedpost honoring land acquisition through genocide, aggressive war and broken contracts."

One demonstrator also said: "Stop the war! Open the borders!" And in Albuquerque, one protester's sign called President Bush a "racist" and a "terrorist."

Panel Sides With Critics

An independent panel — commissioned by the BBC — seems to have sided with what Israeli critics of the BBC have been saying for years. In a report out today, the panel says the BBC does not "consistently give a full and fair account" of the Middle East conflict, adding, "In some ways the picture is incomplete and, in that sense, misleading."

What's more, the panel urged the BBC to "call terrorist acts 'terrorism,'" insisting the term is "clear and well understood." Like the BBC, some news organizations, such as Reuters, have adopted policies barring the use of the words "terrorist" and "terrorism."

Geographically Challenged

A new poll conducted for National Geographic shows that despite extensive news coverage of Hurricane Katrina nearly one-third of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 can't find Louisiana on a map, and nearly one half can't find Mississippi.

What's more, sixty percent of those polled couldn't locate Iraq, and seventy five percent couldn't locate Israel. In fact, fewer than 30 percent said it is important to know the locations of countries in the news."