The Hit Parade ranks stories other people tuned into. Chart placement is determined by the Henry Seltzer, tips and our whim. Arrows indicate movement since last week.

1.↓ Polls give heights to Kerry's convention "bounce." BC04 smug, but swing voters still smitten with KE. [BW, Bloomberg]

2.↓ Halliburton agrees to pay $7.5 mil in settlement of SEC probe, Cheney "cooperated willingly;" a second suit, filed Thursday, alleges "serial fraud" and bribery. KE04 demands Cheney release testimony, BC04 says Halliburton is the Dems' "magic word." [CBSMW, Reuters]

3.↑ Job creation numbers fall short of Wall Street forecast -- 32,000 rather than 200,000-plus. Bush aides insist the numbers are "decent." [WP]

4.↑ Najaf sees the worst fighting since the handover; 300 militants killed by American and Iraqi forces. "It is now clear that the operations have been a complete success," says local police commander. [NYT]

5.↑ Plainspoken Illinois to become home to most the rhetorically intriguing senate race in the country, as fiery fundamentalist orator Alan Keyes prepares to announce candidacy against Dem heartthrob Barack Obama. Keyes is not a state resident, but could draw national attention, money and support. [AP]

6.↑ The Boss does more than just let Kerry use his music. Headlines potentially lucrative ($44M) "Vote for Change" tour, "pens" NYT op-ed: Kerry and Edwards "are sincerely interested in asking the right questions and working their way toward honest solutions." [USAT, NYT]

7.↓ Crowds begin to acquire a taste for Teresa Heinz Kerry, whose unscripted sound bites ("Shove it," "Four more years of hell") continue to make news. [HC, Newsday]

8.↓Laura Bush blames the media. [AP/LAT]

9.↑ Between "Manchurian Candidate" and Nicholson Baker's "Checkpoint," popular culture trades in assassination themes. [Newsweek, AP]

10.↑ Abu Ghraib abuses recorded "just for fun;" at court, no evidence that England acted on orders. [AP/Yahoo, NYT]