"He certainly was a reporter's reporter."  —  (CBS) Veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley died Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan of complications from leukemia.  —  Bradley joined the staff of the venerable news magazine 26 years ago.  His consummate skills as a broadcast journalist …

Allen to Concede Election This Afternoon  —  Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) will concede that he has lost the election to Democrat James Webb at a 3 p.m. news conference in Alexandria, according to a source close to the campaign with direct knowledge of the senator's intentions.

Rumsfeld Reaction: 4 Policy Battles That Could Shape Our Military  —  When President Bush appointed former CIA Director Robert Gates (right) to the Defense Secretary post today, several of Donald Rumsfeld's pet projects began to enter the political crossfire.

CENSORED BY CNN: BILL MAHER SUGGESTS RNC CHAIR MEHLMAN IS GAY....  From CNN: … Partial transcript of Bill Maher's Live appearance on Larry King Live:  —  BM: A lot of the chiefs of staff, the people who really run the underpinnings of the Republican Party, are gay.

LINCOLN CHAFEE OPPOSING JOHN BOLTON OFFICIALLY: BOLTON CONFIRMATION PROCESS DEAD, DEAD, DEAD  —  Word has just reached me from a well-placed source that the White House has continued to push John Bolton's confirmation prospects as US Ambassador to the United Nations despite the election outcome.

Democrats Turned War Into an Ally  —  The presidential advisers Karl Rove, left foreground, and Dan Bartlett, right, as President Bush spoke Wednesday at a news conference.  Republican strategists displayed tentativeness on the Iraq war.  —  On a warm night in mid-September …

The Thumpees Try Their Luck at the Blame Game  —  President Bush had many explanations for what he called the "thumping" his party took on Tuesday, but the most creative was the notion that his chief strategist, Karl Rove, had spent too much time reading books.

After Years On the Outs, New York Comes Back In  —  THE SENIOR Senator Charles E. Schumer, left, with Senator Harry Reid, the minority leader, Wednesday.  Mr. Schumer said he had been asked to continue as the head of the campaign committee for Senate Democrats.

Dist. 13 voting analysis shows broad problem  —  SARASOTA COUNTY — A review of Sarasota County voting results shows that in almost every precinct a high percentage of voters didn't cast ballots in the hotly contested 13th Congressional District, a trend that likely affected the outcome of the race.

Iowa's Vilsack to Run for President  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — Gov. Tom Vilsack said he will officially launch his presidential campaign Thursday when he files documents with the Federal Election Commission.  —  The filing comes two days after his fellow Democrats scored overwhelming victories in state and national elections.

Poll: Afghans express confidence in country's direction, security  —  Most of the 6,200 surveyed say they are satisfied with democracy, but corruption is a major problem  —  Despite a raging pro-Taliban insurgency, the people of Afghanistan say they are optimistic about the future …

Speaker Pelosi's Impending Intelligence Failure  —  Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is in line to make history as the first female Speaker—and second in line of succession for the presidency—when the new Congress convenes in January.  As with any election, a wide variety of issues factored into the dynamics of this year's midterms.

Rumsfeld, A Newsmaker Who's Certainly Hard to Follow  —  Is he stepping down?  You bet.  Does he admit defeat?  Not by a long shot.  Is the country going to miss the way he acted smarter than everyone else and often preempted media questions by interrogating himself as a rhetorical device?

Beheaded girls were Ramadan 'trophies'  —  THREE Christian high school girls were beheaded as a Ramadan "trophy" by Indonesian militants who conceived the idea after a visit to Philippines jihadists, a court heard yesterday.  —  The girls' severed heads were dumped in plastic bags …

Post-election Washington  —  And so the inter-party struggle pauses, if briefly, and the intra-party struggles begin.  After such a profound shift of political power as resulted from this week's election, both the winning and losing parties will inevitably enter a prolonged period (months …