Zawahiri Was Target in U.S. Attack on Religious School in Pakistan  —  Alexis Debat Reports:  —  Ayman al Zawahiri was the target of a Predator missile attack this morning on a religious school in Pakistan, according to Pakistani intelligence sources.  —  ABC News has learned the raid …

Big Metros Show Severe Declines in Latest Circ Report  —  NEW YORK The Audit Bureau of Circulations FAS-FAX report for the six-month period ending September 2006 released this morning confirmed yet again that major metros are struggling to show growth.  The losses are steep while the gains are meager.

Write-in tightens race in District 22  —  Sekula-Gibbs running close to Lampson for the seat DeLay held  —  The Republican write-in effort to hold former Rep. Tom DeLay's congressional seat, once viewed as a long shot, has created a tight race, according to a Houston Chronicle-11 News poll.

The Story Behind the Polls  —  What's with the polls?  —  In 2004, the electorate that went to the polls or voted absentee was, according to the adjusted NEP exit poll, 37 percent Democratic and 37 percent Republican.  In party identification, it was the most Republican electorate since …

Midterm Vote May Define Rove's Legacy  —  Big Losses Could Dim Aura of Bush Adviser  —  By many calculations, Democrats are ready to make big gains in the midterm elections, enough to take over the House and possibly the Senate.  But White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten …

CNN hopes blogging is election-night blessing  —  An event aimed at getting instant reaction from online opinion makers is but a part of cable channels' efforts.  —  NEW YORK — Who says the mainstream media don't respect the blogosphere?  —  CNN is trying to incorporate bloggers directly …

The Decline Of Trust  —  In 1995 Francis Fukuyama came out with a book called "Trust," in which he argued that a society's capacity for cooperation underpins its prosperity.  The same year, Robert Putnam's famous article, "Bowling Alone," lamented that the United States was depleting its stock of precious social capital.

Roskam, Bean with slight leads  —  Key districts tight as Hastert, GOP try to keep control  —  A key pair of traditionally Republican suburban congressional seats are up for grabs, a new Daily Herald/ABC 7 Chicago poll shows - a threatening sign for House Speaker Dennis Hastert's grip …

Lobbyists Won't Like What Pelosi Has in Mind  —  Odds are that lobbying in the House of Representatives is about to get harder.  —  If Democrats gain the 15 seats they need to win control of the House — and most analysts think they will — one of the first things the new House will do is restrict …

Diversity's Oppressions  —  Why Iraq has proven to be so hard to pacify.  —  Iraq is not the first war with ugly surprises and bloody setbacks.  Even World War II, idealized in retrospect as it never was at the time—the war of "the greatest generation"—had a long series of disasters …

Shreddin' With Dick  —  Spotted on 10/19, by an eagle-eyed Wonkette reader: The Mid-Atlantic Shredding Services truck making its way up to the Cheney compound at the Naval Observatory.  —  Fun fact: Mid-Atlantic Shredding Services has been contracted by the Secret Service for our Executive Branch's record-not-keeping needs.

Joe Lieberman's Endless Hypocrisy  —  If you don't like Sen. Joe Lieberman's position on an issue today, just check back with him tomorrow.  —  In 1988 a slightly younger but no-less-father-on-the-show-Alf- looking Joe Lieberman stared into a camera during one of his commercials in the Senate race …