THE NEW YORK TIMES. If Attorney General Andrew Cuomo ran for governor next year, he might consider African-American William Thompson on his ticket as State Comptroller. Besides his experience (Thompson is New York City Comptroller) and his surprisingly strong challenge to Michael Bloomberg in the recent mayoral elections, Thompson would provide ethnic/racial balance to the ticket. This would be especially useful in case Cuomo had to confront incumbent Governor David Paterson, an African-American, in a Democratic primary. In this scenario, incumbent State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli--an Italian-American and not a close associate of Mr. Cuomo--would have to step aside. (Read the article by Danny Hakim)

Washington Post. Italian police arrested a top Sicilian mafia boss on Sunday who had been a fugitive for more than 15 years, dealing what a minister said was a major blow to the crime syndicate. (Read the article)

ANSA. Pope Benedict XVI regularly surfs the Internet and makes frequent use of email, the Vatican's 'communications minister' said Thursday. Speaking as a four-day conference on web communications opened at the Vatican, Monsignor Claudio Maria Celli said the German pontiff was a big fan of technology. ''He sends personal emails and greatly appreciates all the new technologies,'' said Celli. (Read the article)