BREAKING NEWS: Electoral initiative backers give up  —  Plagued by a lack of money, supporters of a statewide initiative drive to change the way California's 55 electoral votes are apportioned, first revealed here by Top of the Ticket in July, are pulling the plug on that effort.

G.O.P. Candidates Criticize Absent Rivals  —  Four empty lecterns.  —  They loomed large over tonight's Republican presidential debate at Morgan State University in Maryland, an historically black college, where four of the leading candidates for their party's presidential nomination were nowhere to be found.

Wanted: Democratic Straight Talk on Iraq  —  Yes, you heard it right: At the Dartmouth College debate Wednesday evening, not one of the three leading Democratic candidates could pledge that all U.S. combat troops would be out of Iraq by the end of his or her first term as president.

Senate Passes Hate Crimes Bill; Larry Craig Opposes  —  Moments ago, the Senate voted 60-39 to end debate on the Matthew Shepard Act, which expands federal hate crimes laws to include violence based on a victim's sexual orientation, gender, disability, and other factors.  The AP reports:

Six inconvenient truths about the U.S. and slavery  —  Those who want to discredit the United States and to deny our role as history's most powerful and pre-eminent force for freedom, goodness and human dignity invariably focus on America's bloody past as a slave-holding nation.

Reports: Military junta cuts Internet access in Burma; Sniper reportedly killed Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai  —  Update: Photo of Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai as he lay dying...  Video here.  —  As I noted the other day, Burmese bloggers have been crucial whistleblowers and eyewitnesses …

The Islamic Reformation  —  Those who call for an Islamic 'Reformation' are missing the point: it has already happened, unfortunately.  —  Since 2001 a plethora of writers have made calls for an Islamic "Reformation".  Many hopes (and careers) are pinned on the idea, but there is no such thing coming.

Cigarette surveillance program begins today  —  Motorists bringing large numbers of smokes into state will be charged  —  NASHVILLE — Starting today, state Department of Revenue agents will begin stopping Tennessee motorists spotted buying large quantities of cigarettes in border states …

Mistake costs dishwasher $59,000  —  MIAMI, Florida (CNN) — For 11 years, Pedro Zapeta, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, lived his version of the American dream in Stuart, Florida: washing dishes and living frugally to bring money back to his home country.

The Nuclear Renaissance Begins  —  If you're tracking the nuclear power revival in America, last Tuesday, September 25, was a milestone.  For the first time since 1973, a new application for building a reactor was placed before the federal government.  —  The applicant was NRG Energy …

U.S. to Allow Key Detainees to Request Lawyers  —  14 Terrorism Suspects Given Legal Forms at Guantanamo  —  Fourteen "high-value" terrorism suspects who were transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from secret CIA prisons last year have been formally offered the right to request lawyers …

NTU Staff & Friends Mourn the Death of NTU President John Berthoud  —  We are sorry to announce the passing of John Berthoud.  As you may know, he has led both the National Taxpayers Union and National Taxpayers Union Foundation over the last 11 years.  We have looked to him as a strong leader …

Obama Distances Himself From Clinton, on Her Turf  —  Senator Barack Obama implored thousands of admirers who gathered last night in New York City to set aside their distrust in politics and believe in the long-term possibility of his presidential candidacy even though, he conceded, "there are easier choices to make in this election."

France Flips While Congress Shifts  —  WASHINGTON — Ahmadinejad at Columbia provided the entertainment, but Sarkozy at the U.N. provided the substance.  On the largest possible stage — the U.N. General Assembly — President Nicolas Sarkozy put Iran on notice.

Washington, D.C., Judge Issues Bench Warrant for Cindy Sheehan  —  WASHINGTON — A bench warrant was issued Thursday for antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, who did not appear for arraignment Thursday in a Washington, D.C., courtroom to face charges related to her Sept. 10 disorderly conduct arrest on Capitol Hill.

Sycophant Savior  —  General Petraeus wins a battle in Washington—if not in Baghdad.  —  In common parlance, the phrase "political general" is an epithet, the inverse of the warrior or frontline soldier.  In any serious war, with big issues at stake, to assign command to a political general …