Effort to replace Kennedy hits snag  —  The Massachusetts Legislature on Wednesday granted Gov. Deval Patrick the power to appoint a temporary replacement for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, but with one catch: when the appointment can be made.  —  Lawmakers declined to allow the law …

“Mmm mmm mmm:” New details about the Dear Leader song video; Update: School responds  —  Scroll for updates...  Photoshop: Leo Alberti  —  In case you were wondering which school taught kids that “Barack Hussein Obama mmm mmm mmm” rap that I posted yesterday afternoon, here are some new details.

Dem campaign anxiety: Vulnerables say they lack cover from Pelosi  —  Politically vulnerable Democrats say Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders aren't offering them the protection from tough votes that they did in the last Congress.  —  Conservative Democrats fear that dozens …

Finance Fireworks - Cutting Benefits vs. a Govt. Takeover  —  ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports:  —  Tempers flared this morning as the Senate Finance Committee continues to slog through its mark up of a sweeping health care reform bill.  —  Sen. Max Baucus, who chairs the Finance Committee …

They're torturing me, Honduras' Manuel Zelaya claims  —  Honduras' fallen leader told The Miami Herald he is being subjected to mind-altering gas and radiation — and that ‘Israeli mercenaries’ are planning to assassinate him.  —  FROBLES@MIAMIHERALD.COM  —  TEGUCIGALPA — It's been 89 days since Manuel Zelaya was booted from power.

Palin breaks with McCain on F-22 cuts  —  Sarah Palin, outlying her “common sense conservative” foreign policy views in Hong Kong yesterday, denounced her former running mate's push to cut new F-22 Raptor fighter jets, an efficiency move in which Senator John McCain allied himself …

9/24: NY Voters to Obama, “Mind Your Business”  —  The White House is urging Governor David Paterson not to run for office next year, but what do New York State voters think?  62% say the Obama Administration is wrong to suggest the governor should not run while 27% think Washington is well within its rights to get involved.

Classified McChrystal Report: 500,000 Troops Will Be Required Over Five Years in Afghanistan  —  Congress Should Hold Hearings on Alternatives to Major Escalation  —  Embedded in General Stanley McChrystal's classified assessment of the war in Afghanistan is his conclusion …

Obama to Use Current Law to Support Detentions  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided not to seek new legislation from Congress authorizing the indefinite detention of about 50 terrorism suspects being held without charges at at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, officials said Wednesday.

Environmentalists Seek to Wipe Out Plush Toilet Paper  —  Soft Toilet Paper's Hard on the Earth, But Will We Sit for the Alternative?  —  By David A. Fahrenthold, Page A01  —  ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — There is a battle for America's behinds.

HuffPo Cofounder Takes On ‘Democrat-Media Complex’  —  On September 10, Andrew Breitbart launched his new site, BigGovernment, with hidden-video camera footage of two young conservative activists who'd gotten Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) employees to advise …

ACORN Files Suit Against Conserative ‘Pimp’ - And May Give Us A Look At His Funding  —  This is going to be interesting, because under discovery, ACORN's attorney will have the right to look into videographer O'Keefe's financial records.  Gee, I wonder if anyone else was funding him - and if so, who?

Prez comes across as a gullible sap  —  President Obama yesterday did his best impression of a high-school soph omore participating in his first Model UN meeting, retailing pious clichés he learned from his pony-tailed social studies teacher.  —  Even Woodrow Wilson might have blanched …

Doug Wilder whacks Deeds  —  Former Virginia governor Douglas Wilder announced Thursday that he will not be endorsing a candidate in the Virginia gubernatorial race, while mounting some sharp criticism at Democrat Creigh Deeds over his stance on taxes and guns.

Huge Anglo-Saxon gold hoard found … The UK's largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure has been discovered buried beneath a field in Staffordshire.  —  Experts say the collection of 1,500 gold and silver pieces, which may date to the 7th Century, is unparalleled in size and worth “a seven figure sum”.

New York Police Official in Terror Unit Is Removed  —  The New York Police Department has removed a senior official from one of its two sometimes competing antiterrorism units, after it played a role in disrupting a sensitive federal terrorism investigation, current and former police officials said on Wednesday.

MSNBC Commentator: Republicans “Want to See You Dead...They Kinda Like It When That Woman Has Cancer”  —  Click to see Ed Schultz's unhinged meltdown.  —  On the Wednesday evening edition of “The Ed Show,” MSNBC commentator Ed Schultz stated that Republicans want Americans to die …

Obama leads 2012 foes  —  If Barack Obama had to stand for reelection today he'd win by as much as he did last year, if not more.  —  He leads Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, and Sarah Palin by anywhere from 7-15 points in hypothetical 2012 contests.  —  Huckabee comes the closest, trailing Obama 48-41.

Eye Opener: Census Worker Found Hanged  —  A part-time Census Bureau field worker was found hanged in Kentucky Sept. 12 with the word “fed” scrawled across his chest, according to a law enforcement source.  Bill Sparkman, 51 was found in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest …

LOOK WHO'LL BE ON THE TEEVEE (AGAIN).... ABC News announced the guest list for Sunday's episode of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” and you'll never guess who's going to be on.  Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will go first, followed by the guy who didn't win last year's presidential election.

For immediate release  —  Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in August suggests that economic activity has picked up following its severe downturn.  Conditions in financial markets have improved further, and activity in the housing sector has increased.