Obama Is Considering Strategy Shift in Afghan War  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is exploring alternatives to a major troop increase in Afghanistan, including a plan advocated by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to scale back American forces and focus more on rooting out Al Qaeda there and in Pakistan, officials said Tuesday.

Palin slams Obama's spending in debut speech in Asia  —  Former US vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin said the US government was wasting taxpayers' money and could aggravate poverty, said delegates at her first speech outside North America on Wednesday.  —  Palin, the former governor of Alaska …

Conservatives Turn Their Sights On Health Care Reform's Most Obvious Provision  —  Democrats are bracing themselves for a new line of conservative attack against a provision in the health care legislation once considered so non-controversial that it was endorsed by several major Republican officials.

Pelosi backs away from deal with Blue Dogs  —  Speaker Pelosi is backing away from a deal she cut with centrists to advance health reform, said a source familiar with talks.  —  Pelosi's decision to move away from the agreement that was made with a group of Blue Dogs to get the bill …

Justice Dept. to Limit Use of State Secrets Privilege  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is preparing to impose new limits on the government assertion of the state secrets privilege used to block lawsuits for national security reasons.  The practice was a major flashpoint in the debate …

The UN loves Barack Obama because he is weak  —  It is not hard to see why a standing ovation awaits Barack Obama when he addresses the United Nations General Assembly today, writes Nile Gardiner.  —  Barack Obama's Gallup approval rating of 52 percent may well be lower at this stage …

Election 2010: Missouri Senate  —  2010 Missouri Senate: Blunt 46%, Carnahan 46%  —  Democrat Robin Carnahan and Republican Roy Blunt are dead even in the first Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 survey of the hotly contested race for the U.S. Senate in Missouri.

A Mideast Handshake  —  THE SUMMIT President Obama convened Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fell well short of the administration's hopes.  Mr. Obama had wanted to announce agreement on the opening of talks on the creation of a Palestinian state …

Poll: Public pessimistic about Afghanistan  —  NBC/WSJ survey: Nearly six in 10 less confident about fate of war  —  WASHINGTON - As President Barack Obama weighs sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that Americans are concerned about the progress of the conflict there.

Insurers Criticize Administration ‘Gag Order’  —  The federal government has ordered health insurers to stop telling Medicare beneficiaries that proposed health reform legislation could hurt seniors and jeopardize their benefits.  —  The government might take enforcement action against insurers …

Cap-and-trade will depress home prices  —  Cap and trade is back in the news.  By the end of this month, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is expected to unveil new legislation along the lines of the Waxman-Markey bill, which passed the House on June 26.

Glenn Beck, Post-Modern Conservative  —  Buried in the cross-tabs of the new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll is a question that takes a temperature reading of Glenn Beck.  Beck actually makes out pretty well.  While just 24 percent of Americans have a favorable view of him (13 percent strongly so) …

State rules Montco pool discriminated by banning campers  —  A state investigation found that a Montgomery County swim club racially discriminated against 56 African-American and Hispanic children in June when it revoked an agreement to allow a Northeast Philadelphia day camp to use its pool after the children' first visit.

Glenn Beck becomes damaged goods  —  Editor's note: This is Part 2 in a three-part series on Glenn Beck's roots.  Read Part 1 here.  —  Glenn Beck, foreground.  In the background, the scene in Tripoli, Libya, on April 15, 1986, after an American attack.  —  Sept. 22, 2009 |

Senator Is the Centerfold  —  Long before he was a politician, the Republican candidate vying for Ted Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat posed nude for the centerfold of Cosmo.  Scott Brown won our “America's Sexiest Man” contest and appeared in the June 1982 issue.

McCain blasts ‘disconnect’ between WH and military leaders  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. John McCain questioned the Obama administration's approach in Afghanistan Tuesday, saying he has never seen such a “disconnect” between the White House and leaders of the U.S. military.

Union Boss Campaigns for Obama, Runs Union... from his Federal Office  —  It seems that no matter where you turn, there are federal government workers pushing a partisan agenda with taxpayer dollars: from the NEA, to ACORN, to union bosses campaigning for Barack Obama while on the job: