Report Reveals CIA Conducted Mock Executions  —  A long-awaited report on post-9/11 interrogation tactics will reveal harrowing new details about treatment of suspected terrorists. … A long-suppressed report by the Central Intelligence Agency's inspector general to be released next week reveals …

Constitutionality of Health Insurance Mandate Questioned  —  President Obama has called for a serious and reasoned debate about his plans to overhaul the health-care system.  Any such debate must include the question of whether it is constitutional for the federal government to adopt and implement the president's proposals.

'I've never seen anything like this'  —  MARIANNA, Fla. — Rep Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) is a skilled politician who has pretty much seen it all — a Deep South Democrat who's managed to dispatch all opponents in his conservative-leaning Panhandle district since winning election in 1996.

Why the Gang of Six is Deciding Health Care for Three Hundred Million of Us  —  Last night, the so-called “gang of six” — three Republican and three Democratic senators on the Senate Finance Committee — met by conference call and, according to Senator Max Baucus, the committee's chair …

Monitors: Taliban cut off fingers of Afghan voters  —  KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) — Making good on a threat of election day violence, the Taliban sliced off the index fingers of at least two people in Kandahar province, according to a vote monitoring group.  —  After they cast their ballots …

Snowe Says No Public Option, White House Says “That's Democracy”  —  The Senate Finance Committee will not include a public option in its health care bill, one of the key Republican negotiators said on Friday — to which the White House responded, with a shrug: “That's democracy.”

A Loyal Opposition  —  Defeating Obamacare and the Taliban.  —  Six months into the Obama presidency, conservatives and Republicans have occasion for some good cheer.  —  It's not simply that key and noxious elements of Obama's legislative agenda are in serious trouble.

“Wars of Necessity”  —  This phrase is getting kicked around a lot lately, I'm sort of in search of an operational definition.  Fortunately, here's Richard Haas: … If that's what people mean by “war of necessity” then I think we can probably do without the phrase.

Critics Driven by Racial Bias, Paterson Says  —  ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson lashed out on Friday at critics who say he should not run for election, and he suggested that he was being undermined by an orchestrated, racially biased effort by the media to force him to step aside.

Lutheran Group Eases Limits on Gay Clergy  —  After an emotional debate over the authority of Scripture and the limits of biblical inclusiveness, leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination voted Friday to allow gay men and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as members of the clergy.

Report details misconduct at VA department  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — While hundreds of thousands of disability claims lay backlogged at the Department of Veterans Affairs, thousands of technology employees at the department received $24 million in bonuses, a new report says.

Milk Carton Campaign a Success!  Shea Porter to hold town meetings next Saturday  —  Multiple sources, including James Pindell at NHPoliticalReport.com, are telling GraniteGrok that our Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter has finally set up some town hall meetings where she will actually meet with real live constituents face to face.

Obama to raise 10-year deficit to $9 trillion  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to approximately $9 trillion from $7.108 trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday.