Barack Counters Iffy New Yorker Decision With Iffy Reporter Ban

•Shunned: Barack Obama's campaign has denied the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza a spot on the candidate's trip to the middle east, following the flap over the magazine's satirical cover last week. No birthday party invite either. That's no way to treat such a tender lover.

•Wage slave, no more: Remember that totally made-up story in the Metro about a defenseless white grad student being assaulted by several black women for wearing an "Obama is my Slave" T-shirt? The imbecile responsible for the shoddy item (whose sole source for the story was the man who sells the T-shirts) has been axed.