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Discusses the Terri Schiavo case. Description of the controversy surrounding the legislation passed by Congress and signed by U.S. President George W. Bush to reconnect the feeding tube which had kept Schiavo alive for sixteen years; Role of the Florida Senate in defeating a bill to outlaw withholding food or water from patients without written instructions; Efforts of religious conservatives in a movement to protect "the sanctity of life" over a "quality of life" approach; Appeal of the case to abortion opponents; Significance of an eighty-two percent opposition to Washington's interference in the case; Reasons for Democratic Party members keeping low profiles.

Offers a look at the 2004 United States presidential elections between President George W. Bush and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Claim that the state of Florida could decide who wins the election; Report on the growth in Florida cities and towns since the 2000 elections; Discussion of the campaigns of each candidate in the Florida; Statement that one in five Florida voters is registered as an independent; Voting trends of the Hispanic American community in Florida; Report that health care is an important issue to Florida voters; Lack of support for the Iraq War.

Discusses the history of televised presidential debates in the United States as George W. Bush and John Kerry take the spotlight. Famous debate between Walter Mondale and President Ronald Reagan in 1984, which Mondale still remembers; Fact that having a good performance one year does not guarantee a good performance four years later, which is what the Bush campaign is nervous about as he and Kerry face off in Florida on Thursday; Fact that Kerry has to reach people during the debates so that at the end voters have a better sense of who he is; Largest and smallest televised debates in the history of the United States; Kerry's strength as a debater.

The article presents several U.S. news briefs. A federal report determined that budget cuts and negligence are in part responsible for the March 2005 explosion at BP's Texas City, Texas refinery. A federal grand jury in Miami, Florida indicted sports agent Gustavo "Gus" Dominguez for allegedly smuggling professional baseball prospects to the U.S. from Cuba. Oklahoma became the last state to legalize tattoo art.