In Final Weeks, G.O.P. Focuses on Best Bets  —  Senior Republican leaders have concluded that Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio, a pivotal state in this year's fierce midterm election battles, is likely to be heading for defeat and are moving to reduce financial support for his race and divert party money …

Lawyer Is Due for Sentencing in Terror Case  —  Lynne Stewart in her former law office.  She was convicted in 2005 of aiding a high-profile terrorist.  —  Lynne F. Stewart, the firebrand lawyer known for defending unsavory criminals, now faces the possibility of living out her life like many of them …

Questions Grow Over U.N. Curbs on North Korea  —  Questions over the effectiveness of the Security Council's punitive sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test grew Sunday, as both South Korea and China — the North's two most important trading partners — indicated that business …

Dozens Of Iraqis Killed in Reprisals  —  River Towns Trade Sectarian Strikes As Militias Move In  —  Militias allied with Iraq's Shiite-led government roamed roads north of Baghdad, seeking out and attacking Sunni Arab targets Sunday, police and hospital officials said.

U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Hits 53 So Far This Month  —  Two marines were killed by insurgents in Anbar Province on Sunday, the American military command said, and three American soldiers died a day earlier in a bombing in southern Baghdad, bringing the total number of American troop deaths …

Bush's Press Secretary Is Raising Money, and Some Eyebrows  —  Tony Snow draped his lanky frame across a wooden lectern, leaned forward and gazed out at 850 adoring Republicans who had paid $175 apiece to hear him speak.  There was a conspiratorial gleam in his eye, as if he was about to reveal …

REID'S SMELLY WINDFALL  —  BACK-$CRATCHING WITH DEVELOPERS  —  SENATE Minority Leader Harry Reid's ethics woes continue to mount.  An Associated Press expose shows that Reid pushed through changes in federal law that helped the senator get rich - via complex land deals with a lobbyist who's also tied up in a federal bribery case.

2 GOP senators urge new Iraq strategy  —  WASHINGTON - Two leading Republican senators called Sunday for a new strategy in Iraq, saying the situation in getting worse and leaving the United States with few options.  —  Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and John Warner of Virginia are part …

Panel to Seek Change on Iraq  —  A commission backed by Bush has agreed that 'stay the course' is not working, its leader says.  A phased withdrawal is one option on the table.  —  WASHINGTON — A commission backed by President Bush that is exploring U.S. options in Iraq intends …

Hastert's Team Mentality to Be Tested as Foley Scandal Unfolds  —  On a table near the desk of the speaker of the House, nine bears sit in a wooden rowboat, eight with oars and one in charge.  But the boat can't move unless the oars all row in the same direction.  That's why House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) bought it.

Doubts over Iraq drive a volatile U.S. campaign  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With three weeks left in a volatile U.S. election campaign, growing public unhappiness with the Iraq war has become the top obstacle for Republicans in their fight to keep control of Congress, pollsters and analysts said.

Specter's Role in Passage Of Detainee Bill Disputed  —  The news reached Democrats working on the military commissions bill in the Senate cloakroom the morning of Sept. 27.  Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), a sponsor of two amendments giving detainees a right to challenge their detention or treatment …

BBC mounts court fight to keep 'critical' report secret  —  The BBC has spent thousands of pounds of licence payers' money trying to block the release of a report which is believed to be highly critical of its Middle East coverage.  —  The corporation is mounting a landmark High Court action …

Schwarzenegger for Governor  —  The governor has learned how to work with the Legislature and chart a moderate course for California.  —  AFTER HIS HISTORIC ELECTION in the 2003 recall, followed by some early promise and a disappointing sophomore year, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a solid …

The Fall Of Air America and A Bold Prediction For The Future  —  Disclosure: I have never had any business relationship with Air America, do not have any such relationship today, know various financial players who might participate in its future, and readers should consider that I reserve …