BREAKING: Sarah Palin “Winged” Her Speech Because of “Broken” Teleprompter  —  Halfway through Sarah Palin's speech tonight at the RNC, people following the speech noticed she was deviating from the prepared text.  —  According to sources close to the McCain campaign, the teleprompter continued scrolling during applause breaks.

Focus Group: Palin Was (Alarmingly) Strong  —  Several moderate-Democrat friends of mine have been emailing—few if any would ever vote for McCain—but all agree that Palin was very strong.  The more liberal among them are a little panicked.  —  I completely misjudged how negative she would be.

HOW CAN SMART PEOPLE SAY SUCH DUMB THINGS ABOUT SARAH PALIN?  —  At times like these, I'm relieved that I don't cover elections.  There's bum DNA in my heart, and the agita might send me keeling over.  —  How else to react to the sight of sophisticated people saying, with impressively straight faces …

Palin: wrong woman, wrong message  —  Sarah Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Hillary Clinton.  She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.  —  Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing — the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party …

Striking Back at Critics, One by One  —  Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate may be controversial, risky and untested on the national stage.  But at the convention Wednesday night, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin proved to be an instant jolt of energy for a political party that has been worried and demoralized for much of 2008.

Troopers dub Mat-Su area the meth capital of Alaska  —  In 2003, authorities uncovered nine meth labs in the area.  Last year, the number increased to 42, said Kyle Young, an investigator with the troopers who works with the Mat-Su narcotics team.  —  Officials with the Office …

Obama might pursue criminal charges against Bush  —  Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said yesterday that he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration if they are elected in November.  —  Biden's comments, first reported by ABC news …

Mayor: ‘I lied under oath’  —  He'll resign, serve 120 days in jail, repay $1M, surrender law license  —  Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has pleaded guilty, ending a nearly eight month drama that has transfixed the region, paralyzed much of city business and halted a political career that once held such promise.

McCain Campaign Sees Changed Map With Palin  —  Gov. Sarah Palin may well draw larger crowds than Sen. John McCain ever did, and the McCain campaign plans to take advantage: they're filling a calendar that will find her deployed to places where McCain can't go, places where McCain's gone and fallen flat …