1.  Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and House Republicans struck an accord on meat inspection that averts a political showdown in the House.

2.  But that reprocessing would free up the nuclear warhead material from the rest of the nuclear fuel, escalating the political showdown with North Korea, he warned.

3.  But the president has thus far refused, setting the stage for a heated political showdown with the legislature, which has the power to unseat him.

4.  Only later did I learn that the Dallas-San Francisco encounter on the football field was also a political showdown, a titanic clash of warring ideologies.

5.  The floundering economy sets the stage for a political showdown.

6.  The votes marked a significant defeat for Republicans, who forced a political showdown by attaching two contentious amendments to the popular disaster relief measure.

7.  Ailing Havel, back home, faces political showdown.

8.  His position could set the stage for a new political showdown with the Kremlin.

9.  Meanwhile, a political showdown at the top of the Bosnian Serb entity has split the ruling party and state institutions into two hostile, increasingly desparate camps.

10.  Meanwhile, a political showdown at the top of the Bosnian Serb entity has split the ruling party and state institutions into two hostile camps.