Under fire, Obama shifts strategy  —  Aides to President Barack Obama are putting the final touches on a new strategy to help Democrats recover from a brutal August recess by specifying what Obama wants to see in a compromise health care deal and directly confronting other trouble spots, West Wing officials tell POLITICO.

WWF condemns 9/11 print ad by DDB Brazil  —  [NOTE: The WWF says it never approved this ad and is condemning it.  See the updates below.]  Just in time for the anniversary of 9/11 comes this tasteless, nightmarish print ad for the World Wildlife Fund, showing dozens of planes headed for lower Manhattan.

CNN Poll: Independents disapprove of Obama  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A majority of independent voters disapprove of how Barack Obama's handling his job as president, according to a new national poll.  —  Fifty-three percent of independents questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation …

Obama's Team Crosses the Rhetorical Line  —  (Update: The website cited below has been suspended by barackobama.com.  The screenshot to the right is the original page, but the embedded links will no longer work.  Click on the picture to the right for a full-screen view.)

Hong Kong Broker Pulling A “Borat” On Sarah Palin  —  Hopefully Sarah Palin realizes she's been invited to Hong Kong as a practical joke.  —  CLSA, the Asia-focused broker who invited Mrs. Palin as keynote speaker for an Asian investment conference, is well known for their cheeky takes on investment research.

Obama's Sept. 8 speech to schoolchildren  —  President Obama told a student report last month that he would be making an address to schoolchildren on September 8:  —  The Daily Paul picked up the story last week and linked to teachers' manuals pegged to Obama's address, which have now been linked on Drudge.

Guest list for Obama's White House Ramadan dinner  —  (UPDATE: 5:48 p.m. The president's dinner remarks — sans teleprompter — have been added to the end of this item.)  —  The other day President Obama issued a special message to the Muslim world for the annual Ramadan holiday.

Beck guest warns of ‘black genocide’ from health care reform  —  It appears Fox News host Glenn Beck has found an unlikely ally — an African-American preacher who peddles conspiracy theories about a white plot to exterminate black people.  —  Beck gave airtime Monday to Dallas-area pastor Stephen Broden …

U.S. to boost combat force in Afghanistan  —  Support units will be replaced by up to 14,000 ‘trigger-pullers,’ and noncombat posts will be contracted out, Defense officials say.  The swap will allow the U.S. to keep its troop level unchanged.  —  U.S. troops patrol in Kunar province.

51 Vote Rules May Force a Public Option Too Liberal for Some Dems  —  As Senate leaders begin work on a Democrat-only health care bill, they're finding themselves confronted with an unexpected irony: Though the caucus has reached an uneasy consensus around a public option that's modeled …

Conservative Democrats Expect a Health Deal  —  WASHINGTON — Like her colleagues, Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, a South Dakota Democrat and leader of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, has been weathering the summer of health care discontent.

Exclusive: Controversial Blackwater Security Firm Gets Iraq Contract Extended by State Dept  —  Company Banned From Operating by Iraqi Government Earlier This Year  —  The State Department has extended a contract with controversial private security firm Blackwater, ABC News has learned.

“Death Threat” For Rep. John Salazar (CO) A “False Flag” Operation?  “Crying Wolf”?  -Police Rule Accusation “Unfounded”  —  For the second time in as many weeks, Democrats have accused health care opponents of politically-motivated crimes-vandalism at the Democratic Party's state HQ and even a death threat against Rep. John Salazar.

Taliban Surprising U.S. Forces With Improved Tactics  —  The Taliban has become a much more potent adversary in Afghanistan by improving its own tactics and finding gaps in the U.S. military playbook, according to senior American military officials who acknowledged that the enemy's resurgence this year has taken them by surprise.

Grassley: The ‘Only Way To Get A Bipartisan Agreement Is To Defeat A Democratic Proposal On The First Hand’  —  Over the August recess, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), one of the three Republicans engaged in the “Gang of Six” health care negotiations, has repeatedly made public statements …

Hostages of the Hermit Kingdom  —  Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists released last month after being imprisoned in North Korea, tell their story — and remind people of the story they wanted to cover.  —  We arrived at the frozen river separating China and North Korea at 5 o'clock on the morning of March 17.

Maria Bartiromo Presses 44-Year-Old Congressman: If Medicare Is So Good, Why Aren't You On It?  (VIDEO)  —  Earlier today, MSNBC's Carlos Watson hosted Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo for a discussion on health care.  —  At one point, Bartiromo was critical …

“Minor Revolution”  —  Let's get out ahead of this.  Republicans are saying that if Democrats go the ‘reconciliation’ — i.e., 51 votes rules — route there will be a “minor revolution.”  That's fine.  Hyperbole is a bipartisan indulgence.  —  But I'm seeing more and more reporters referring …

Ahmadinejad's Imam: Islam Allows Raping, Torturing Prisoners  —  Follow Israel news on and .  —  (IsraelNN.com) A highly influential Shi'a religious leader, with whom Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regularly consults, apparently told followers last month that coercion by means of rape …

Cheney In 2012?  Some Key GOPers Aren't Kidding  —  At first, it seemed like a joke.  Wall Street Journal columnist James Taranto opined on Monday that — if the 2012 election were to turn to national security — “it's hard to think of a better candidate... than Richard B. Cheney.”