Connecticut Crucible for a War Debate  —  When the three candidates in Connecticut's celebrated Senate race met for their final debate on Monday night in New London, only one of them appeared to be having a good time.  —  It was not Ned Lamont, the tense and fidgety businessman who had captured …

New Jersey Court Backs Full Rights for Gay Couples  —  Cindy Meneghin, right, and her partner, Maureen Kilian, heard about the New Jersey Supreme Court's decision on gay marriage Wednesday at their lawyer's office in Newark.  With them was Sarah, left, their daughter.

Interview of the Vice President by Scott Hennen, WDAY at Radio Day at the White House  —  Q I've had the honor of introducing our next guest at Cabela's in East Grand Forks, Minnesota.  I've interviewed him just off the MSUM Dragon gym floor in Moorehead, even at his hotel suite in St. Paul …

Olbermann Gives Us The Visual To Limbaugh's Attack On Michael J. Fox  —  By now everyone has heard Limbaugh's little commentary about Michael J. Fox's appearance in the ad for Claire McCaskill.  Well tonight Keith Olbermann supplied us with the visual to accompany Rush's latest show of idiocy.

Argentine lawyer asks to jail Iran officials for Jewish center blast  —  Argentine prosecutors on Wednesday asked a federal judge to issue an arrest warrant against former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani and seven others for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center that killed scores of people.

An Interview With President Bush  —  This afternoon I had the privilege of being one of eight columnists interviewing George W. Bush in the Oval Office.  The others were Tony Blankley of the Washington Times, Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal, Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post …

Ad Seen as Playing to Racial Fears  —  The Tennessee Senate race, one of the most competitive and potentially decisive battles of the midterm election, became even more unpredictable this week after a furor over a Republican television commercial that stood out even in a year of negative advertising.

Airport taxi flap about alcohol has deeper significance  —  The airport taxi controversy may go deeper than the quandary over whether to accommodate Somali Muslim cabdrivers who refuse to carry passengers carrying alcohol.  Behind the scenes, a struggle for power and religious authority is apparently playing out.

Rights Group Fires Publisher of Foley E-Mail  —  A liberal gay rights group said Wednesday that one of its employees, acting anonymously, had created the Web site that first published copies of unusually solicitous e-mail messages to teenagers from former Representative Mark Foley, which led to his resignation.

Media blamed for Islam bias  —  AUSTRALIAN Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty believes the media is fuelling a growing bias against Islamic Australians, warning that increased vilification of Muslims is fomenting home-grown terrorism.  —  In a speech delivered in Adelaide …

Youths torch two buses near Paris  —  Youths in the Paris suburbs have attacked two buses on the eve of the first anniversary of rioting among immigrant communities.  —  In Nanterre, northwestern Paris, about 10 passengers fled a bus as masked youths set it ablaze, police said.

Democrats lead in US election-Reuters poll  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Voters strongly favor Democratic candidates over Republicans in the Nov. 7 congressional election and harbor growing doubts about the Iraq war and the country's future, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released Thursday.

Jane Pauley Sues New York Times  —  Broadcaster claims fraud over appearance in drug industry advertorial  —  Claiming that The New York Times duped her into granting an interview for what turned out to be a drug company-funded advertising supplement, Jane Pauley has sued the newspaper for fraud.

Watchdog Group Accuses Churches of Political Action  —  A nonprofit group has filed a complaint asking the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the role that two churches may have played in the re-election campaign of Kansas' attorney general.  —  The complaint by Citizens for Responsibility …

Five US troops killed in Iraq as Bush under fire  —  Source: Reuters  —  The military said on Thursday five more American troops were killed in Iraq, bringing the U.S. death toll for October to 96, as President George W. Bush sought to deflect mounting election-year pressure over the war.