U.S. Shelves Nuclear-Missile Shield  —  Czech Interim Prime Minister Gets Midnight Call  —  WASHINGTON — The White House will shelve Bush administration plans to build a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, a move likely to cheer Moscow and roil the security debate in Europe.

Pelosi: Democrats facing toughest midterms ever  —  The 2010 congressional elections will be the “toughest midterm elections Democrats have ever faced,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) acknowledged today.  —  Pelosi made the statement in a fundraising pitch for the Democratic Congressional …

Baucus bill booed at Obama health rally  —  President Obama's mention of Sen. Max Baucus's healthcare proposal drew boos Thursday at a healthcare rally at the University of Maryland.  —  By contrast, the left-leaning crowd cheered Obama when he endorseed a public health insurance option …

HOUSE VOTES TO DEFUND ACORN-FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL  —  FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 718 (Democrats in roman; Republicans in italic; Independents underlined)  —  H R 3221 RECORDED VOTE 17-Sep-2009 2:06 PM  —  QUESTION: On Motion to Recommit with Instructions

Mad Man: Is Glenn Beck Bad for America?  —  On Sept. 12, a large crowd gathered in Washington to protest ... what?  The goals of Congress and the Obama Administration, mainly — the cost, the scale, the perceived leftist intent.  The crowd's agenda was wide-ranging, so it's hard to be more specific.

Tea Party Protesters Protest D.C. Metro Service  —  Brody Mullins reports on money and politics.  —  Protesters who attended Saturday's Tea Party rally in Washington found a new reason to be upset: Apparently they are unhappy with the level of service provided by the subway system.

ACORN Video: Prostitution Scandal in San Diego, CA  —  With 70 miles of stunning beaches and picture-perfect weather all year round, having fun during the summer in San Diego doesn't require a lot of money.  —  The city combines old-fashioned Mexican charm with a modern edge.

Limbaugh: We need segregated buses  —  In a remark extraordinary even by the standards of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing radio heavyweight declared on his program Wednesday that the United States needed to return to racially segregated buses.

75 Percent of Oklahoma High School Students Can't Name the First President of the U.S.  —  OKLAHOMA CITY — Only one in four Oklahoma public high school students can name the first President of the United States, according to a survey released today.  —  The survey was commissioned …

Essay: Chop and Crop  —  [David Hume Kennerly is a former contributing editor of Newsweek.  He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1972 for his photographs of the Vietnam War.  A response from Newsweek follows immediately below.]  —  The Sept. 14th Newsweek cover line — “Is Your Baby Racist?”

Expand the House?  —  WASHINGTON — In America, democracy follows the simple principle of one person, one vote, right?  —  Unless, that is, you live in Montana, where your vote carries a little more than half as much weight in the House of Representatives as that of someone living in Rhode Island.

Obama as witch doctor: Racism or satire?  —  (CNN) — Posters portraying President Obama as a witch doctor may be racist, organizers of Tea Party protests say, but they reflect anger about where he is leading the country.  —  The posters, showing Obama wearing a feather headdress …

Teen birth rates highest in most religious states  —  Link may be due to communities frowning on contraception, researchers say  —  U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests.

John Boehner struggles to keep up with base  —  “I would point out that the greatest anxiety about the president's policies tends to come from independents,” he said.  —  Long before the tea parties or Wilson's outburst, Boehner and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) had struggled to moderate …

Ohio Plans to Try Again as Execution Goes Wrong  —  CINCINNATI — The State of Ohio plans to try again next week to execute a convicted rapist-murderer, after a team of technicians spent two hours on Tuesday in an unsuccessful effort to inject him with lethal drugs.