Ted Kennedy Dies of Brain Cancer at Age 77  —  ‘Liberal Lion’ of the Senate Led Storied Political Family After Deaths of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy  —  Sen. Edward Moore Kennedy, the youngest Kennedy brother who was left to head the family's political dynasty …

1 suspect in custody following Dem HQ vandalism in Denver  —  A 24-year-old arrested this morning on suspicion of smashing 11 windows at Colorado Democratic Party headquarters tried to conceal his identity while allegedly committing the crime, according to police descriptions.

King on Holder: 'You wonder which side they're on'  —  A “furious” Rep. Peter King, the hawkish, maverick Long Island Republican, blasted a “disgraceful” Eric Holder for opening an investigation of CIA interrogators and chided his own party for what he described as a weak response to the move in an interview just now with POLITICO.

The New Republican Plan to Bankrupt America  —  Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, this week revealed a secret Republican plan that would end up eliminating all federal farm subsidies; closing down Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks; selling off the interstate highway system …

Report Shows Tight C.I.A. Control on Interrogations  —  WASHINGTON — Two 17-watt fluorescent-tube bulbs — no more, no less — illuminated each cell, 24 hours a day.  White noise played constantly but was never to exceed 79 decibels.  A prisoner could be doused with 41-degree water but for only 20 minutes at a stretch.

‘Blue Dog’ Democrat: Pelosi Is Too Divisive to Be Speaker  —  In a statement likely to intensify the GOP assault on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reign, a first-term Democratic “blue dog” congressman said that he would not vote to make her the top House Democrat again.

Fox News' Shep Smith debunks McCain's charge that reconciliation would be a ‘drastic change.’  —  This afternoon in his town hall, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said he is “unalterably opposed” to using the budget reconciliation process to pass health care reform.

Nemazee Is Arrested in $74 Million Citibank Fraud  —  Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) — Hassan Nemazee, chairman of Nemazee Capital Corp. and a fundraiser for President Obama and Hillary Clinton, was arrested on charges that he tricked Citigroup Inc. into lending him as much as $74 million using phony documents.

Federal prosecutor who took loan from GOP governor candidate Chris Christie resigns  —  TRENTON — The federal prosecutor at the center of the controversy over a loan made by New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie has resigned.  —  In her resignation letter dated today …

Deaths, Missing Detainees Still Blacked Out in New CIA Report  —  Inspector General Reportedly Discovered Three Died, Many Unaccounted For by CIA  —  The CIA and the Obama Administration continue to keep secret some of the most shocking allegations involving the spy agency's interrogation program …

The White House and the Pauline Kael Syndrome  —  The late New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael famously said after Nixon's landslide reelection, “How can he have won?  Nobody I know voted for him.”  My proposition for today is that the entire White House suffers from the Kael syndrome.

The Pelosi-Obama Deficits  —  Even $9 trillion might be too optimistic on current spending trends.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Earlier this year when President Obama was selling his first budget blueprint, he promised to end years of “borrow and spend” budgeting.  Yesterday, reality struck.

Feingold: 'We're headed in the direction of absolutely nothing'  —  Russ Feingold tells a Wisconsin crowd of the prospects for health care legislation:  —  “Nobody is going to bring a bill before Christmas, and maybe not even then, if this ever happens,” Feingold said.  “The divisions are so deep.

Sounds of Silence  —  Fiji remained silent on a day that should have been filled with songs of praise.  —  The government canceled an annual Methodist choir festival scheduled for Saturday in Suva, the archipelago's capital.  The decision to cancel the 160-year-old competition fueled tensions …

Rangel's Wealth Jumps After Disclosure  —  House Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel , already beset by a series of ethics investigations, has disclosed more than $500,000 in previously unreported assets.  —  Among the new items on Rangel's amended 2007 financial disclosure report …

Coburn tells weeping victim of broken health care system that government isn't the solution.  —  Yesterday CNN's Rick Sanchez aired a segment from a health care town hall where a weeping constituent explained to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that her husband's health insurer refuses to cover his treatment for a traumatic brain injury.

Club for Growth puts Sen. Bennett in crosshairs  —  The Club for Growth took a significant step Tuesday toward opposing Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) in the GOP Senate primary.  —  The Club announced an advertising and letter-writing campaign targeted at the 3,200 likely delegates to the state Republican convention.

Sen. Grassley On Health Care: “I Don't Think It's Going To Be Possible To Work It Out With The Administration” … ALL OVER THE BALL PARK  —  During a conference call with Iowa reporters, Sen. Chuck Grassley was asked: … Grassley's response is almost incomprehensible: … You read that right.

Michael McNamara  —  “banners, regardless of click rates, have value.  A message is still being sent and received... the direct model discounts the other more valuable aspects of advertising: return sales  —  brand awareness, information dissemination”  —  True, but how much value ?

Will There Be Outrage?  — By: Jonah Goldberg  —  I haven't read the IG report yet, I've just seen a few write ups and excerpts around here and other places.  Without getting into the substance of the controversy, I'm doubting that there will be a lot of popular outrage over any of the allegations of abuse.

The Burdens of Accountability  —  You can put long articles on the internet.  But Josh Tyrangiel, Managing Editor of Time.com says it doesn't really work and he has a sensible explanation of why.  If you look at the traffic statistics for any newsish website you'll see that people are reading when they're supposed to be at work.

The Ethics of Ferocity  —  The Obama Administration, aware that everyone outside of union bosses, and interest groups looking for billion-dollar ribeye steaks of taxpayer money, is having trouble remembering why they voted for Obama, has decided to drag CIA interrogators and Bush Administration officials …