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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Obama to Set Higher Bar For Keeping State Secrets  —  New Policy May Affect Wiretap, Torture Suits  —  The Obama administration will announce a new policy Wednesday making it much more difficult for the government to claim that it is protecting state secrets when it hides details …

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 …

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.

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 …

Whoops: Anti-ACORN Bill Ropes In Defense Contractors, Others Charged With Fraud  —  Going after ACORN may be like shooting fish in a barrel lately — but jumpy lawmakers used a bazooka to do it last week and may have blown up some of their longtime allies in the process.

Honduras leader ‘willing to talk’  —  Honduran interim leader Roberto Micheletti says he is willing to talk to deposed president Manuel Zelaya, barricaded in the Brazilian embassy.  —  But Mr Micheletti said Mr Zelaya must first accept presidential elections scheduled for November.

My Road to Smoother Transportation in Virginia  —  The first job of the next governor of Virginia is to restore confidence in our economy, and the best way to do that is through fixing our state transportation system.  —  Our transportation infrastructure is crumbling around us.

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 |

At Pentagon's Request, Washington Post Delayed Story on Afghanistan Report  —  To Bob Woodward, it was the modern-day equivalent of the Pentagon Papers.  But to Obama administration officials, the classified assessment of the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, if disclosed by The Washington Post …

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.

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.

Why Is Soda So Expensive in Europe?  —  I'm one of those “drinks a ton of Diet Coke” people, and thus every time I come to Europe I find myself dismayed at the cost of soda over here.  Does anyone have a good explanation of why it's so much more expensive than in the US?

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:

Senate OK's Kennedy successor bill  —  Governor could name interim pick tomorrow  —  The state Senate approved a bill yesterday that would let Governor Deval Patrick appoint an interim successor to Edward M. Kennedy, paving the way for the appointment of a new US senator as early as tomorrow …

How Using Imam in Terror Inquiry Backfired on Police  —  A decision to enlist a Queens imam in an effort to develop information about the man at the center of a long-running cross-country terrorism investigation backfired earlier this month.  —  In fact, federal prosecutors have now charged the imam …