A spokesman for President Obama took a timeout from politics today.

Opening up a press briefing shortly before 2 p.m., White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, a graduate of N.C. State, called on Charles Babington, an Associated Press reporter who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill (and used to cover Washington for the N&O).

"Mr. Babington, start us off?" he said. "Let the record reflect that an N.C. State alum has asked a Tar Heel to start the questions."

Babington made reference to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Atlanta.

"Very kind of you," he told Gibbs. "And good luck tonight."

Gibbs added: "In the spirit of what can only be said is bipartisanship."

The brief exchange drew laughs from the roomful of reporters, though the question Babington then asked — about a missile strike in Pakistan — quickly turned the briefing in a more serious direction.

CONCORD, N.H.—Elizabeth Edwards has begun referencing the death of Benazir Bhutto in Elizabeth’s introduction of her husband to show his foreign policy experience.

Twice today, Elizabeth said the assassination of the Pakistani political leader late last month showed, tragically, which of the candidates is acting presidential, Barb Barrett reports.

"We got to see, for a moment, what each of the candidates would be like as president. We got to pull back the curtain a little bit," Elizabeth said in Concord this morning.

"We saw all the candidates, Republicans and Democrats, run for the microphone, except one," she said. "One went to the phone to talk to (Pakistani President Pervez) Musharraf."

Edwards came back at it again while answering questions from audience members, describing his call for Musharraf to push for democracy, allow international inspectors into the country to investigate the assassination and to move forward with elections in the wake of Bhutto's death.

"Her loss is a huge loss to the democratization process in Pakistan," Edwards said.

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones urged President Bush in a letter to review the nation's immigration procedures with Pakistan.

In light of the tragic assassination of Benazir Bhutto, I am very concerned about the current state of our nation’s immigration policy toward Pakistan," the letter states. Jones wrote that between 2002 and 2005, as many as 660 Pakistanis were caught entering the U.S. illegally, but that many more slipped through.

"Mr. President, in view of Pakistan’s volatile political climate and its considerable stockpile of nuclear weapons, it is essential for the United States to seriously assess its current policy of immigration and importation from Pakistan," the letter concludes.

TIPTON, Iowa—John Edwards Friday detailed more of his conversation with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf hours after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Speaking to about 60 people in a downtown restaurant, Edwards said he called Pakistan's ambassador to the United States shortly after hearing about Bhutto's death. A couple hours later, he said, he got a call from Musharraf, whom he had met several years ago during a visit to Islamabad, Jim Morrill reports.

"What I said to him was, number one, this democratization has got to continue," Edwards said he told the president. He also told him to let international investigators in to probe the killing.

Edwards said the U.S. should encourage Pakistani elections, which may be delayed because of Bhutto's assassination. He said America should re-evaluate its aid. News reports have said much of the aid has been spent not to fight extremists but to arm Pakistan for any potential war with its
Indian neighbor.

And Edwards found room to criticize President Bush.

"Unlike President Bush, America should not be engaged with Pakistan unilaterally," he said. "This needs to be a multi-lateral approach."

N.C. Carolina's Supreme Court justices and about 200 lawyers paused their legal duties today to stage a brief protest.

The Wake County Bar Association billed it as a silent protest of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who suspended Pakistan's constitution Nov. 3, Titan Barksdale reports.

The lawyers said it is their duty to address injustices and support the rule of law at home and abroad.

Protesters marched from the capitol to the steps of the N.C. Supreme Court. Lawyers throughout the country are protesting Musharraf's actions.