Kerry Remark Draws Sharp Criticism  —  A comment Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) made about getting "stuck in Iraq," which he later said was a botched joke about President Bush, prompted sharp criticism today from Bush and other Republican leaders.  —  Bush accused Kerry of insulting American troops …

U.S. Central Command Charts Sharp Movement of the Civil Conflict in Iraq Toward Chaos  —  A classified briefing prepared two weeks ago by the United States Central Command portrays Iraq as edging toward chaos, in a chart that the military is using as a barometer of civil conflict.

Tomorrow's News: Sweeney's Alleged Domestic Abuse  —  Joe Mahoney and I report tomorrow off a state police report of an incident in which Rep. John Sweeney's wife apparently called the police to report domestic violence.  —  The full story follows:  —  POWERFUL UPSTATE Rep. John Sweeney got …

This Is No Fun  —  I just thought I would go on record stating that the last few weeks and months have really sucked for me.  I spent my whole life in the GOP- starting in 1984 with county meetings, going to Teenage Republican camp (my friends called it Hitler Youth Camp …

Pelosi's Unintelligent Choice  —  If Democrats win control of the House next week, Nancy Pelosi's first test as speaker will arrive long before the 110th Congress convenes.  Her choice to head the House intelligence committee — unlike other House committees, this one is left entirely …

Heckler subdued at George Allen event  —  RICHMOND, Va. - A heckler who confronted Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record) at a campaign appearance Tuesday was put in a chokehold and slammed to the floor by three of the Republican's supporters in an incident captured on video.

Kerry cancels Mankato appearance  —  The dueling rallies scheduled for Mankato today on behalf of Republican congressman Gil Gutknecht and Democratic challenger Tim Walz lost some of their pizzaz Tuesday night when Sen. John Kerry pulled out of the Democratic rally.

Iraqi Demands Pullback; U.S. Lifts Baghdad Cordon  —  Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki demanded the removal of American checkpoints from the streets of Baghdad on Tuesday, in what appeared to be his latest and boldest gambit in an increasingly tense struggle for more independence from his American protectors.

Wages, benefits on upswing  —  WASHINGTON — Wages and benefits paid to American workers rose last quarter by the most since 2004, as the unemployment rate matched a five-year low.  —  The Labor Department said Tuesday that its employment cost index rose 1 percent compared with the second quarter.

N. Korea Agrees to Return To Talks  —  North Korea agreed yesterday to return to the six-nation nuclear disarmament talks, just three weeks after it conducted its first test of a nuclear device.  —  The country's unexpected decision, which was announced by Chinese and U.S. officials in Beijing …

More MacArthur, Less Marshall  —  In an earlier commentary on TCS I argued that what we did in postwar Japan has important lessons for what we do in any postwar enterprise including Iraq and Afghanistan.  This generated a considerable number of comments from TCS readers, most of which were at least somewhat critical.

PNG tells Australia: we will stop your aid  —  PAPUA New Guinea is threatening to dramatically reduce the money it receives from Canberra, suspend all official visits by Australians or impose onerous travel restrictions, and recall its high commissioner.  —  Whether it does so …

Hezbollah confirms Israel talks  —  Hezbollah's leader has confirmed that indirect talks with Israel on a prisoner exchange are under way, describing them as "serious".  —  Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said a United Nations mediator had been meeting officials from both sides, but he provided no further details.