I was wondering because frequently news and such makes its way around Europe without touching down in the states, and quite often it turns out to be correct.

The U.S. press tested the waters a while back, on the op/ed pages of course, and it received a very negative reaction from the general public as well as certain outspoken Rice/Bush opponents in Congress who were kind of put on the spot because of it.

I didn't know of there was something (again) that was circulating over yonderways that was waiting to hit here. While this odd little press phenomenon is sometimes a bit irritating, because it points out glaring deficiencies in the principles and practices of American journalists in general, I do not find it at all surprising.