Here are today's top stories in the newsroom for Friday, May 16th.

In foreign news, two natural disasters are taking a large toll on two countries — one in Burma, the other in China. The cyclone's death toll is up to 78,000. Rescue workers in China are sifting through rubble in a desperate search for signs of life from Monday's earthquake. Some 700 people are believed to be buried in one province.

In Jerusalem yesterday, President Bush says it'll take another 60 years to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

On Capitol Hill, a Democratic party rules committee is scheduled to meet May 31 on how to handle Michigan and Florida's disputed primaries.

War funding battles in the House: $163 billion in emergency spending for Iraq and Afghanistan are rejected.

In other news, Sen. John McCain's outreach to liberal blogs is a new campaign strategy to attract more voters. Washington Times reporter Stephen Dinan has the story, which has been picked up by the Drudge Report.

And, a controversial passport card alarms Congress on security issues. Reporter Bill Gertz has the exclusive.

— The Washington Times editors