A Secret Life  —  Mark Foley's explicit e-mails could bring down the GOP.  His story, and the fallout.  —  In uptight, colorless Washington, Congressman Mark Foley, 52, Republican of Florida, was a bon vivant.  He loved parties and making jokes; he did a wicked Bill Clinton imitation; he loved to talk about sex.

Poll shows Reynolds lags behind Davis after connection to Foley scandal  —  BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) _ Rep. Thomas Reynolds is trailing behind his Democratic opponent after he was connected to the scandal involving former GOP Rep. Mark Foley of Florida, according to a poll released Saturday.

AP: Allen didn't disclose stock options  —  RICHMOND, Va. - For the past five years, Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record), has failed to tell Congress about stock options he got for his work as a director of a high-tech company.  The Virginia Republican also asked the Army to help another business that gave him similar options.

Guantánamo defense lawyer forced out of Navy  —  NEWARK, N.J. — The Navy lawyer who took the Guantánamo case of Osama bin Laden's driver to the U.S. Supreme Court — and won — has been passed over for promotion by the Pentagon and must soon leave the military.  —  Lt. Cmdr.

NATO chief warns of Afghan tipping point  —  KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO's top commander in Afghanistan said Sunday the country was at a tipping point and warned Afghans would likely switch their allegiance to resurgent Taliban militants if there are no visible improvements in people's lives in the next six months.

Foley: The Final Straw  —  In 1994, pollster Frank Luntz helped congressional Republicans sweep into power.  Now he says the G.O.P. has become everything it once swore to destroy  —  Had enough?  —  America has.  Anyone who reads the polls accurately and honestly will acknowledge …

DNC changes vets' page  —  An update to my blog post yesterday about the DNC's tribute to American troops that featured a Canadian soldier.  The foreign soldier has been replaced (hat tip - Mark):  —  At least it's the right flag.  —  (Good thing the webmaster made sure this one didn't slip through:)

Iran arrests controversial cleric  —  An Iranian cleric, Mohammed Kazemeini Boroujerdi, has been arrested amid clashes between his supporters and police outside his house in Teheran.  —  Police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of his followers, who had formed a cordon around his residence.

Journalist Critical of Chechen War Is Shot Dead  —  Anna Politkovskaya, the veteran Russian journalist and author who made her name as a searing critic of the Kremlin and its policies in Chechnya, was found dead on Saturday in her apartment building, shot in the head with a pistol, the authorities and her colleagues said.

Hastert scratches New York fundraiser  —  WASHINGTON — Embattled House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert nixed plans to headline a mid-October fund-raiser in New York with Mayor Bloomberg — but will stand with President Bush on Thursday in Chicago.  —  The Bush White House will lend more support …

Iraq's Dark Day of Reckoning  —  If you were a Shiite, having suffered through a brutal insurgency and an incompetent government, would you give up your weapons?  —  When Iraq's current government was formed last April, after four months of bitter disputes, wrangling and paralysis …

Baker Sees Iraq Panel Departing From Bush Strategy  —  James A. Baker III , the Republican co-chairman of a bipartisan commission assessing Iraq strategy for President Bush, said today that he expected the group to depart from Mr. Bush's call to "stay the course."

Mass Venezuela opposition rally  —  Tens of thousands of people have marched through the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in support of the main opposition candidate, Manuel Rosales.  —  Mr Rosales will face President Hugo Chavez in December's presidential poll.

Forget the L.A. Times; How About a National Tribune?  —  Former opinion editor feels ex-Publisher Jeff Johnson's pain, gives his recipe for 21st century success.  —  OCCASIONALLY, during the year and change that I ran the opinion pages of this newspaper (ending a little over a year ago) …

US secretly woos Khatami  —  The Bush administration made secret overtures to former Iran president Mohammed Khatami during his visit to the United States last month in an attempt to establish a back channel via the ex-leader.  —  American officials made the approach as part of a strategy …

The Federal Budget Deficit: Bush Benchmark Achieved, Ignored  —  ..... and the best may be yet to come.  —  A huge point has been virtually if not totally ignored since the announcement on Friday that the reported federal deficit for the fiscal year that ended a week ago was $250 billion …

As Exemptions Grow, Religion Outweighs Regulation  —  EXEMPTIONS AVAILABLE Federal law gives religious organizations unique ways to challenge government restrictions on how they use their land or buildings.  In Boulder County, Colo., the Rocky Mountain Christian Church is using a new federal law …