Audio: John Kerry on America's lazy, uneducated military; Update: Video added  —  People send me these audio clips all the time and I'm never sure whether to run them or not.  Without the audio of the whole speech, I can't tell if the comments were later qualified, retracted, embellished, etc.

In Baghdad, a Force Under the Militias' Sway  —  Infiltration of Iraqi Police Could Delay Handover of Control for Years, U.S. Trainers Suggest  —  BAGHDAD — The signs of the militias are everywhere at the Sholeh police station.  —  Posters celebrating Moqtada al-Sadr, head of the Mahdi Army militia, dot the building's walls.

Black Democrats Cross Party Lines To Back Steele For U.S. Senate  —  George's Politicians Lash Out at State Party  —  A coalition of black Democratic political leaders from Prince George's County led by former county executive Wayne K. Curry endorsed Republican Michael S. Steele's bid for the U.S. Senate yesterday.

Bush Says 'America Loses' Under Democrats  —  White House Talk Heats Up As Polls Show Tight Races  —  President Bush said terrorists will win if Democrats win and impose their policies on Iraq, as he and Vice President Cheney escalated their rhetoric Monday in an effort to turn out Republican voters in next week's midterm elections.

Warming Called Threat To Global Economy  —  Failing to curb the impact of climate change could damage the global economy on the scale of the Great Depression or the world wars by spawning environmental devastation that could cost 5 to 20 percent of the world's annual gross domestic product …

Democrats Are Seen to Gain in Statehouse Races  —  Candidates for the Iowa Legislature answered questions at a forum in Waterloo last week.  Analysts say local campaigns are getting rougher as control slips toward centralized parties or interest groups.  —  More than 6,000 state legislative seats …

HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU WIN AN ELECTION EVEN IF YOU LOSE ***Updated***  —  UPDATE 10/31/06 6:44am: In case you thought I was kidding, here are today's batch of headlines supporting the Democratic election storyline:  —  CNN - Poll: Stumping Not Helping Bush Popularity  —  NYT - Democrats Are Seen to Gain in State Races

Polls: 4 key Senate races tight  —  (CNN) — With a week to go before voters cast their midterm election ballots, four key Senate races remain statistical dead heats, and Republican Sen. Mike DeWine faces uphill sledding in his re-election battle in Ohio, according to new CNN polls released Tuesday.

Rushing for the Exit  —  IF WE LEAVE IRAQ, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SUPPORTERS OF DEMOCRACY?  —  To say that "exit strategies" from Iraq have become the flavor of the month would be to exaggerate the situation to the point of absurdity.  Exit strategies are not even the fall fashion.

Republicans See Edge From Early Voting  —  Democrats Question Specific Claims and Believe  —  They Are Catching Up With the Trend  —  WASHINGTON — Down in the polls and with their majorities in Congress at risk, Republicans say they have some good news in early-voting statistics that suggest …

ARMY STRONG!  - 2006 PROJECT VALOUR-IT COMPETITION STARTS TODAY  —  "At that time I had no use of either hand.  I know how humbling it is, how humiliating it feels.  And I know how much better I felt, how amazingly more functional I felt, after Soldiers' Angels provided me with a laptop …

The Six-Year Itch  —  Democrats may take Congress, but will it matter in the long run?  —  As Democrats begin, in George W. Bush's words, "measuring the drapes" in the offices of the House speaker and Senate majority leader, it's worth looking back on the history of sixth-year-of-the-presidency off-year elections.

Confrontation off Lebanon Leads to Questions  —  It started so well.  But now, questions surround Germany's mission to Lebanon.  Not only have Israeli planes buzzed German ships, but the naval mission has fewer rights than at first promised.  The German parliament is demanding answers.

Pakistan Braces for a Backlash After "Taliban" Raid  —  An air strike on a religious school kills 80, raising prospects for new unrest directed at Musharraf  —  A Pakistani military air strike on a pro-Taliban religious school in the country's volatile North West Frontier Province has set off …