Local cops claim they're increasingly out-gunned by criminals with high-caliber automatic weapons.  So they're beefing up their own armaments. The federal Assault Weapons ban expired three years ago. Has that produced an arms race in American cities? Was the ban really all that effective? Plus, Democrats plan to increase pressure on President Bush over his plan for increased troops in Iraq and, on Reporter's Notebook, the mainstream media are taking heat for over-covering Anna Nicole Smith.  Did they have any choice?