1.   A Defense Department spokesman briefed reporters.

2.   And Pac Bell President Bill Blase personally briefed reporters.

3.   A Bush administration official who briefed reporters after the meeting did not explain the reason for the lack of a joint statement.

4.   A military official on Wednesday continually cited Northern Ireland when briefing reporters on the Afghan mission.

5.   A senior White House official who later briefed reporters on background, however, was less optimistic.

6.   A senior Treasury official, briefing reporters Thursday, gave the first public acknowledgment that Congress was unlikely to approve the plan.

7.   A top Israeli intelligence official, briefing reporters several weeks ago, said Palestinian police commander Ghazi Jabali oversaw the manufacturing of the mortars, an allegation Jabali denied.

8.   Aides to Clinton briefed reporters on the ideas Thursday afternoon, hours before he was to announce them himself in his acceptance speech before the Democratic National Convention.

9.   Briefing reporters at Spangdahlem, Clark said the crash was an inevitable risk of training for combat.

10.   But a senior administration official who briefed reporters late Tuesday afternoon said the conference that Secretary of State Colin Powell was trying to organize would be a modest one.