A former Wal-Mart executive accused of ripping off the company to the tune of a half-mil claims the money was part of the 'union project' -- a company black op to pay off union reps to say which stores they might be trying to organize.

Wal-Mart calls bullshit on that, but its reputation means the denial isn't sticking -- even though it may be true.

This NYT story provides a bit of an afternoon-in-the-life look at ABC News and the battle its World News Tonight show is facing to overtake the NBC Nightly News.

And if you read that one, you might as well check out Debut at ABC News: 2 Anchors, No Hitches, by NYT TV critic Alessandra Stanley.