Small aircraft crashes into NYC skyscraper; Update: Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle piloted the plane?  —  Right off the East River, on 72nd Street.  It looks like an apartment building; the fire is small, perhaps confined to one apartment unit thus far.  Fox and CNN are carrying it live.

AP Exclusive: Reid Got $1M in Land Sale  —  Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn't personally owned the property for three years, property deeds show.  —  In the process, Reid did not disclose to Congress …

Exclusive: Book says Bush just using Christians  —  'Tempting Faith' author David Kuo worked for Bush from 2001 to 2003  —  More than five years after President Bush created the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, the former second-in-command of that office is going public with an insider's tell …

U.S. indicts American in al-Qaida video  —  LOS ANGELES - The charge of treason was used for the first time in the United States' war on terrorism Wednesday, filed against a California man who appeared in propaganda videos for al-Qaida.  —  Adam Yehiye Gadahn, 28, could be sentenced to death …

'Huge rise' in Iraqi death tolls  —  An estimated 655,000 Iraqis have died since 2003 who might still be alive but for the US-led invasion, according to a survey by a US university.  —  The research compares mortality rates before and after the invasion from 47 randomly chosen areas in Iraq.

Report refutes fraud at poll sites  —  WASHINGTON — At a time when many states are instituting new requirements for voter registration and identification, a preliminary report to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission has found little evidence of the type of polling-place fraud those measures seek to stop.

NUREMBERG-STYLE TRIALS PROPOSED FOR GLOBAL WARMING SKEPTICS  —  CONTACT: MARC MORANO ( marc_morano@epw.senate.gov ), MATT DEMPSEY ( matthew_dempsey@epw.senate.gov )  —  A U.S. based environmental magazine that both former Vice President Al Gore (http://gristmill.grist.org/print/ 2006/9/19/11408/1106? …

Shays Hits Hard In Page Scandal  —  Invokes Chappaquiddick In Rebuking Farrell; Polls Show Issue Not Helping Democrats  —  WASHINGTON — When the congressional page scandal broke last month, Democrats across the country saw a chance to lambaste Republican leadership - including Diane Farrell …

Avoiding Political Embarrassment the Columbia University Way  —  How do you avoid political embarrassment at Columbia University these days?  —  Disinvite invited guests to a talk sure to interest conservatives and other hawks in the larger NYC community.  —  Why, we wonder …

After Blaming Clinton For North Korea Nuke, McCain Blasts People 'Engaging In Finger-Pointing'  —  Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) explicitly blamed the Clinton administration for North Korea's nuclear weapons test on Sunday: "[I]t is a failure of the Clinton administration policies …

Instructor who doubts 9/11 compares Bush to Hitler  —  MILWAUKEE — A University of Wisconsin-Madison instructor who has come under scrutiny for saying that the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks compares President Bush to Adolf Hitler in an essay that his students are being required to buy.

Kidnapped American teacher released unharmed in Nablus  —  An American teacher was freed late Wednesday after being held for a day by Palestinians.  He appeared to be unharmed.  —  Michael Leighton Phillips, 24, was brought to security headquarters in Nablus, where he was joined by a former mayor …

The FAA Corrals Its Brand  —  Federal Aviation Administration chief Marion C. Blakey worries that people have been confusing her agency with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or worse, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  —  So Blakey last month signed an order establishing the FAA …