Quake raises fears of 2nd N. Korea test  —  TOKYO - A strong earthquake shook northern Japan on Wednesday and Japanese media reported the government had detected tremors in North Korea as well, leading it to suspect Pyongyang had conducted a second nuclear test.

In Search of a North Korea Policy  —  North Korea's declared nuclear bomb test program will increase the incentives for other nations to go nuclear, will endanger security in the region and could ultimately result in nuclear terrorism.  While this test is the culmination of North Korea's long-held aspiration …

Hastert Vows to Fire Anyone Who Hid Page Info  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe said Tuesday he told the House official in charge of the page program as early as 2001 about Rep. Mark Foley's ''creepy'' e-mail to a former page.  —  Kolbe, the only openly gay Republican in Congress …

Hastert does press conference about Foley scandal in front of a graveyard  —  (The video is at the bottom of this post.)  —  First, Hastert outright lied during his press conference.  It is simply amazing that GOP leaders are still trying to downplay the severity of this scandal.  More on that below.

Iraqi Dead May Total 600,000, Study Says  —  A boy at his father's coffin in Baghdad yesterday.  Death rates were higher outside the capital, the study said.  —  A team of American and Iraqi public health researchers has estimated that 600,000 civilians have died in violence across Iraq since …

Republicans Want to Turn Over a New Page  —  The Foley scandal is no "October surprise"  —  Leading Republicans, with the support of conservative media outlets, are charging that the Mark Foley scandal was a plot orchestrated by Democrats to damage the G.O.P.'s electoral prospects this November.