Afternoon Buzz: Senate May Cut--Nevermind

The top stories this afternoon:

• The psychodrama in the Senate continues as Democrats grapple for a unified stance on the war. Earlier today, Sen. Kent Conrad, chair of the Budget Committee, floated the idea of cutting the president's $142 billion military spending request by $20 billion. Hours later, Majority Leader Harry Reid publicly nixed the idea.
• The U.S. stock market is showing signs of life again, erasing a 209-point drop at the start of trading today.
• A particularly nasty strain of tornadoes and heavy rain ripped across the Plains into the Southeast.
• The famous theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease, will briefly experience weightlessness for himself when he takes a ride with Zero Gravity Corp. at the Kennedy Space Center.

Etc.: Bush Unconcerned about Congressional Action on Iraq on USNews.com