Idaho Senator Loses Committee Leadership Posts  —  The political career of Senator Larry Craig of Idaho appeared to be collapsing today as fellow Republicans called for his resignation and party leaders ousted him from his committee leadership posts amid the fallout over his arrest and guilty plea …

Carlson claimed that after incident in a public bathroom, he assaulted the man who "bothered" him  —  On the August 28 edition of MSBNC Live, hosted by MSNBC general manager Dan Abrams, Tucker Carlson, host of MSNBC's Tucker, asserted, "Having sex in a public men's room is outrageous.

FEC To Collect $775,000 Civil Penalty From America Coming Together  —  WASHINGTON -The Federal Election Commission (FEC/Commission) announced today that it has reached a settlement with America Coming Together (ACT) regarding violations of federal campaign finance laws during the 2004 Presidential election.

Edwards: Americans should sacrifice their SUVs  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards told a labor group he would ask Americans to make a big sacrifice: their sport utility vehicles.  —  The former North Carolina senator told a forum …

A Scandal-Scarred G.O.P. Asks, 'What Next?'  —  Scott Reed, a Republican strategist, was at a dinner in Philadelphia on Monday night when his cellphone and Internet pager began beeping like crazy.  Only later did he learn why.  His party was buzzing with news of a sex scandal involving a Republican United States senator — again.

Obama Steals A Page From FDR  —  "Fine the lenders!" writes Barack Obama here.  —  Hoping to prop up his poopy presidential primary campaign, Obama says we should round up "the unlicensed, unregulated, fly-by-night mortgage brokers who are hoodwinking low-income borrowers into taking on loans …

The Big Picture(s)  —  In the midst of the still-lingering controversy over the truthiness of The New Republic's "Baghdad Diarist," more than a few people suggested that war supporters, unable to discredit the real bad news coming from Iraq, targeted the Scott Thomas Beauchamp stories as a weak link.

WYOMING TO HEAD OF PACK, FOR NOW  —  From NBC's Domenico Montanaro  —  In another sign the presidential selection process may be headed for 2007, Wyoming Republicans voted to move their conventions to Jan. 5, leapfrogging Iowa and New Hampshire.  —  "We're first in the nation," …

Clinton to give away fundraiser's cash  —  WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton will give to charity the $23,000 in donations she has received from a fundraiser who is wanted in California for failing to appear for sentencing on a 1991 grand theft charge.

Good news, but not for Democrats  —  IT'S A WAR, and it's the Middle East, so glad tidings can go sour and there are never any guarantees.  But for all the caveats, the news from Iraq has been heartening.  —  For months, observers have been crediting General David Petraeus's "surge" with remarkable progress on the ground.

MoveOn targets pro-surge Democrat  —  Rep. Brian Baird's (D-Wash.) recent conversion on the Iraq war is beginning to affect more than the national dialogue.  On Wednesday, liberal group MoveOn.org announced an ad campaign against the congressman in his own district.