Bush to Blame for North Korean Crisis, Soros Says (Update1)  —  Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) — Billionaire investor George Soros today blamed U.S. President George W. Bush for escalating tensions with North Korea, which last week tested a nuclear bomb for the first time.

Weldon's Itera ties long known  —  As President Bush prepared to announce a new energy cooperation pact with Russia in May 2002, Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) and 10 fellow lawmakers sat down in Moscow with executives of oil and gas trader Itera Group, praising the company as a prime prospect for U.S. partnerships.

Kolbe Matter Is Referred to House Ethics Panel  —  Allegations Involve Contact With Male Former Pages  —  The House committee looking into allegations that former congressman Mark Foley (R-Fla.) had improper contact with male former pages has been asked by lawmakers overseeing the page program …

Big Democratic wins likely on Election Day  —  NBC/WSJ poll: Public's opinion of GOP hits record low  —  WASHINGTON -  —  Mark Murray  —  Just 20 days until Election Day, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds approval of the GOP-held Congress is at its lowest mark in 14 years …

Virginia's Senate Race  —  THE U.S. SENATE race in Virginia pits a novice politician, Democrat James Webb , against a much more experienced one, incumbent Republican George Allen, who spent much of the early fall obliterating his reputation for amiable charm and political deftness.

Iraq plan ignites Burns-Tester debate  —  Challenger calls conflict a quagmire  —  Sen. Conrad Burns said at a debate Tuesday night that President Bush does have a plan for winning the war in Iraq, but he isn't about to share it with the world.  —  Democratic Senate candidate Jon Tester replied …

FBI Yet to Find Evidence of Foley-Page Sexual Contact  —  Brian Ross Reports:  —  After interviewing some 40 former congressional pages, FBI agents have yet to turn up any evidence of direct sexual contact between underage pages and former Congressman Mark Foley.

Tagged out  —  Tag is now out during recess at Willett Elementary School in Attleboro.  —  So is touch football and any other unsupervised "chasing" games that are deemed to pose the risk of injury as well as liability to the school.  —  "It's a time when accidents can happen," …

Iran bans fast internet to cut west's influence  —  Iran's Islamic government has opened a new front in its drive to stifle domestic political dissent and combat the influence of western culture - by banning high-speed internet links.  —  In a blow to the country's estimated 5 million internet users …

For Math Students, Self-Esteem Might Not Equal High Scores  —  U.S. Lags Behind Countries That Don't Emphasize Self-Regard  —  It is difficult to get through a day in an American school without hearing maxims such as these: "To succeed, you must believe in yourself," and "To teach …

Senate Democrats Bankroll Extortion  —  Just as a refresher, the breaking Larry Craig story is not a story about sex, or sexuality, or hypocrisy, it's about criminal extortion.  Several months ago, Mike Rogers threatened to out an unnamed United States Senator if he voted to confirm Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

IT'S THE HOMOS, STUPID  —  An Open Letter to the Conservative-American Community  —  by Dr. Howard Dean  —  Chairman, Democratic National Committee  —  Dear Valued Potential Customer:  —  As the leader of one of America's premier political parties, I know firsthand the importance …

Pennsylvania Senate: Santorum Trailing by 13  —  Casey (D) 54% Santorum (R) 41%  —  With just a few weeks to go until November 7, Senator Rick Santorum's chances of securing reelection fade a bit more every day.  The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll finds that challenger Bob Casey …

McCain: "I'd just commit suicide" if Democrats take control of Senate  —  Arizona Senator and probable 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain jokingly says he would "commit suicide" if Democrats take control of the U.S. Senate in this November's election.

Who's Really Being Outed?  —  I'm sorry if this topic causes embarrassment to Larry Craig and his family, but I assume by now they've figured out that politics in 2006 is a thoroughly rotten business.  Still, there's nothing new under the sun.  Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr fought a duel …

The Worst Congress Ever  —  How our national legislature has become a stable of thieves and perverts — in five easy steps  —  >> See our picks for the 10 Worst Congressmen and read what people are saying in our politics blog.  —  There is very little that sums up the record of the U.S. Congress …

Tyson Ready to Enter The Ring for Steele  —  Former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson says he is so bullish on Republican Michael S. Steele's campaign for the U.S. Senate, he would return to the ring if Steele thought it might help him.  —  "I would do anything to help Michael," …

The blue wave of the future is clear  —  But which specific seats will fall and how far inland will the wave go?  —  WASHINGTON -  —  Charlie Cook  —  Election Day is three weeks from now, and unless something happens fast, this will be one of those once- or twice-in-a-generation elections …

Bush Sets Defense As Space Priority  —  U.S. Says Shift Is Not A Step Toward Arms; Experts Say It Could Be  —  President Bush has signed a new National Space Policy that rejects future arms-control agreements that might limit U.S. flexibility in space and asserts a right to deny access to space to anyone "hostile to U.S. interests."

Hot From the Debate: "Time to Go, Joe!"  —  Hot gossip from today's debate: Alan Schlesinger pwned Loser Joe again.  Hard.  Drew blood.  Stephen Colbert, please have him on your show.  I asked you once nicely.  Don't make me get nasty!  —  Joe kept going over his alotted time …

Governor's race turns ugly  —  Blackwell campaign links Strickland to predators, hints he's gay  —  COLUMBUS - With Republican Ken Blackwell trailing by double digits in almost every poll, Blackwell's campaign Tuesday tried to link his Democratic opponent to child sex predators …

Video: 'Wrong' Rosie won't voice support for US victory in Iraq  —  Bill O'Reilly was on this morning's "The View" to discuss his book, "traditionalists" and "secular progressives", and a variety of other issues.  —  Before Bill O came out with the gals, Rosie introduced "Disagree" and …

Will You Fight With Them?  —  Anyone who comes to Huffington Post has seen that the bloggers here have been the first to stand up and defend veterans from Admiral Sestak to Tammy Duckworth when they've been slandered.  It should be a source of pride and testimony to how the blogosphere …