US intelligence agencies are being more cautious with their pronouncements about the weapons capabilities of Iran and North Korea after the intelligence failings leading up to the Iraq War. Intelligence officials refer to this new approach as “the Powell Rule” after the debacle of Colin Powell’s intelligence assessments presented to the UN that were later found to be faulty [NYT].

At least five schoolchildren are among the rising number of people killed by tornadoes and violent storms that swept Alabama, Missouri and Georgia [NYT].

Former UN ambassador John Bolton says the US should pursue regime change in Iran because European governments refuse to back sanctions tough enough to halt the suspected Iranian nuclear-bomb program [NYSUN].

A general in charge of one of the US military’s leading hospitals, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington, D.C., has been fired over conditions there [NYT]. Some patients were living in buildings infested with mice, cockroaches and mold [NYDN].

In a tale reminiscent of a Hollywood thriller, a rookie New York cop was saved by his police badge after a man tried to stab him with a knife only for the blade to hit the cop’s shield and shatter into pieces [NYDN].

Warren Buffet, the world’s second richest man (after Bill Gates) with a net worth of $42 billion, is looking for someone to replace him as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway [NYPOST].

And a 15-year-old Florida girl has finally stopped hiccuping—after five weeks [NYPOST].