England's Prime Minister, Gordon Brown spoke to each of the three U.S. presidential candidates on Thursday. Brown and the candidates discussed U.S.-British relations, the climate change, the economy and the war in Iraq, according to the article.

Although enjoying his time with all the candidates, Brown expressed no favoritism of any one of them.

...the relationship between America and Britain will remain strong, remain steadfast, and will be one that will be able to rise to the challenges of the future. Prime Minister Gordon Brown "It is for Americans to decide who their president is going to be," he said. "What I was convinced of after talking to each of them and talking about the issues that concern them and concern the world, is that the relationship between America and Britain will remain strong, remain steadfast, and will be one that will be able to rise to the challenges of the future."

It was great for the candidates to meet with the prime minister. In a way, it is giving them practice for the future, when one of them will be the president. Just as in any job, networking is vital. Building a good relationship with one of America's strongest allies is vital for the next president of the United States. 

More information on this story can be found at MSNBC.com.

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Pope Benedict XVI talked to victims on sex abuse scandals involving clergy at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. Thursday.

Benedict met and prayed with several victims privately, according to an article by the Associated Press on the MSNBC Web site. The pope was only expected to mention the scandals once during his stay here, but has addressed them numerous times, the article said.

In my opinion, Benedict's willingness to discuss the sex scandal is helpful to Catholocism in the long run. He is accepting what happened and apologizing to the best of his ability. His openness to admit mistakes that occurred within his church is very admirable. Nothing could possibly make up for what has happened to the victims, but Pope Benedict XVI has taken a step in the right direction. 

More information on this story can be found at MSNBC.com.

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In state news, Governor Phil Bredesen signed a resolution Thursday to not participate in a boundary commission formed by Georgia law makers according to Knoxnews.com.

The commission concerns moving back the Tennessee-Georgia boundary line because of a "19th-century survey that mistakenly placed Georgia's northern line just short of the Tennessee River," the Knoxnews.com article said.

I think this whole dispute is ridiculous. The border between Tennessee and Georgia has been in place for 200 years. Why change it now? I realize that the current boundary falls below the Tennessee River and therefore limits Georgia's water supply. However, Georgia has the Flint River, which is completely in the state of Georgia. Everyone suffered from the drought this summer, but not everyon called for the movement of century old borders. 

More information on this story can be found at Knoxnews.com.

* The opinions expressed in this article reflect only the author and do not represent those of the Tennessee Journalist.