U.S. May Escort Ahmadinejad to Ground Zero  —  Talks Underway After Iranian Requests a Visit  —  In a move that has stunned New York, the Bloomberg administration is in discussions to escort the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to ground zero during his visit to New York next week, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said today.

Rather Files $70 Million Lawsuit Against CBS  —  Dan Rather, whose career at CBS News ground to an inglorious end 15 months ago over his role in an unsubstantiated report questioning President Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service, filed a $70 million lawsuit this afternoon against the network …

The President Goes to War Over "Betray Us"  —  Kate O'Beirne and I just got back from a meeting with the president in the Roosevelt Room of the White House for a small group of conservative journalists.  —  There was a lot of ground covered, and the president was in a serious but confident mood …

Breaking: Webb amendment fails.  —  The Senate just voted 56 to 44 on Sen. Jim Webb's (D-VA) amendment "requiring that active-duty troops and units have at least equal time at home as the length of their previous tour overseas."  The bill failed to garner the 60 votes needed to move forward.

Jackson criticizes Obama  —  Presidential candidate's response to Jena, La., case called too weak  —  The Rev. Jesse Jackson called Tuesday on Democrats seeking the 2008 nomination for president to give S.C. voters "something to vote for" when they go to the polls in January.

DNC condemns remark  —  New York Rep. Peter King, a prominent House Republican, said there are "too many mosques in this country" in a recent interview with Politico.  —  "There are too many people sympathetic to radical Islam," King said.  "We should be looking at them more carefully and finding out how we can infiltrate them."

Ugly Alliance  —  Democrats are said to be keen about "connecting the dots"—so let's see if we can connect a few for them.  —  Dot Number One: Last week, MoveOn.org published a full-page ad in the New York Times directed at David Petraeus, the commanding general in Iraq …

Grand Prairie state lawmaker switches sides to Democrat  —  He says Republican leadership had 'no tolerance' for his values  —  gjeffers@dallasnews.com  —  Dallas-area Democrats are getting another Republican Party defector.  —  State Rep. Kirk England, R-Grand Prairie …

Report: GOP Congressman Jerry Weller Will Retire  —  Another Congressional Republican is headed for the door.  Congressman Jerry Weller (R-IL) will reportedly announce tomorrow that he is not seeking re-election.  —  President Bush carried his district with 53% in 2004, and Weller was re-elected with 55% in 2006.

UPDATE: Gunmen Blow Up Iraq's North Export Pipeline -Official  —  AMMAN -(Dow Jones)- Unknown attackers have blown up part of an Iraqi pipeline that pumps crude oil from Kirkuk oil fields to the Turkish export terminal, Ceyhan, a senior Iraqi oil official and a shipping agent said Wednesday.

Who bears blame for anti-war failures?  —  For many in Washington, the biggest unanswered question from Army.  Gen. David Petraeus' high-profile, low-satisfaction testimony last week was not about military strategy but about political tactics.  Why has the anti-war movement been unable …

Bush or bin Laden: Who is More Evil?  —  It is the time of the year once again for Americans to mourn the loss of friends, family members and co-workers and to remember all who died on September 11, 2007.  But while most of us hold the anniversary as a reminder of those who have passed …

Johanns to resign, run for Senate, sources say  —  U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns (R) will resign his Cabinet post and run for the Senate seat being vacated by Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), according to local GOP sources.  —  The sources said Johanns plans to resign early next week …

Republican Filibusters  —  GOP FILIBUSTERS....I see that Republicans have successfully filibustered two more bills today: one to give a House seat to the District of Columbia (57-42) and one to restore habeas corpus rights to terrorism suspects (56-43).  —  That seems like a good excuse …