Edwards says he'll accept public financing  —  ABOARD THE CNN ELECTION EXPRESS, New Hampshire (CNN) — Former Sen. John Edwards Thursday said he will accept public financing for his presidential campaign, and challenged his chief rivals for the Democratic nomination, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, to follow his lead.

Limbaugh: Service members who support U.S. withdrawal are "phony soldiers"  —  During the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq "phony soldiers."  He made the comment while discussing …

Transcript Reveals Impeachable Offenses by Bush Re: Iraq War  —  El Pais published a transcript (reprinted at this link) of the conversation between George W. Bush, Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, and Condoleeza Rice held at Crawford before the Iraq War.  Bush is typically bullheaded, impatient …

Documents point to S.C. terror plot  —  Explosives materials in car  —  In a 12-minute video posted on YouTube, an Egyptian man wearing a white shirt, khaki pants and rubber gloves explains in Arabic how to turn a toy boat into a bomb.  —  His name is Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed …

GALLUP: Trust in Federal Government, On Nearly All Issues, Hits New Low — Even Less Than in Watergate Era  —  NEW YORK A new Gallup poll reveals that, as the organization puts it, Americans now "express less trust in the federal government than at any point in the past decade …

Singles will check out eligible candidates at Obama rally  —  Looking for a date for Friday night?  Want someone to read thepoliticker.com with and talk to about Eliot Spitzer's fiscal policy late into the night?  —  Like-minded city singles are looking to tonight's Barack Obama rally …

Bin Laden may have just escaped U.S. forces  —  August mission in Tora Bora almost snared 'high value target'  —  A little more than a month ago, with the anniversary of Sept. 11 approaching and fears of a new al Qaeda attack rising, some U.S. intelligence and military analysts thought …

Following Bush Over a Cliff  —  The spectacle Tuesday of 151 House Republicans voting in lock step with the White House against expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was one of the more remarkable sights of the year.  Rarely do you see so many politicians putting their careers in jeopardy.

Verizon Reverses Itself on Abortion Messages  —  Saying it had the right to block "controversial or unsavory" text messages, Verizon Wireless last week rejected a request from Naral Pro-Choice America, the abortion rights group, to make Verizon's mobile network available for a text-message program.

Peru deal gaining momentum among Democrats  —  Democratic support for a trade agreement with Peru appears to be building despite spirited opposition from critics, who ripped into the deal at a Wednesday caucus meeting on trade.  —  The hour-long meeting was requested by the House Trade Working Group …