Sources: Checketts to drop Limbaugh  —  Rush Limbaugh is expected to be dropped from a group bidding to buy the St. Louis Rams, according to three NFL sources.  —  Dave Checketts, chairman of the NHL's St. Louis Blues and the point man in the Limbaugh group attempting to buy the Rams …

Snowe: Public option could be dealbreaker  —  The public option is likely a deal breaker for Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), the sole Republican who voted for healthcare reform in the Finance Committee yesterday.  —  In a number of interviews this morning, Snowe, whose vote is seen as crucial …

Poll shows Specter staring at ‘near fatal’ 31 percent re-election figure  —  TRIBUNE-REVIEW  —  HARRISBURG — Only 31 percent of Pennsylvania voters believe Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter should be re-elected, and 59 percent believe it's time to give someone else a chance, a state poll released today shows.

Geithner Aides Reaped Millions Working for Banks, Hedge Funds  —  Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) — Some of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's closest aides, none of whom faced Senate confirmation, earned millions of dollars a year working for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and other Wall Street firms …

An Apartment Complex Teeters  —  High-Profile Tishman/BlackRock Property in New York in Danger of Default  —  The giant Stuyvesant Town apartment complex on Manhattan's East Side, shown Tuesday, was developed by MetLife for World War II veterans.  —  One of the biggest …

Democrats Try to Hit the Insurance Industry Where it Hurts  —  Harry Reid is telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that the real reason health insurance is so expensive is that they're evil monopolists, and we need to repeal their anti-trust exemption:

Palin Plans New Political Group  —  Michael M. Phillips reports on the doings of conservative favorite Sarah Palin.  —  Sarah Palin fans can expect to see a new Palin political organization surface as her memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life,” hits the shelves next month.

House Republicans accuse Muslim group of trying to plant spies  —  Four House Republicans are accusing a Muslim advocacy group of trying to plant spies on Capitol Hill.  —  Republican members of the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus said the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) …

Daisy Chain of Cheneys  —  I imagine that if you called the new consulting firm of Cheney, Cheney & Cheney and got put on hold, you'd hear the “Ghostbusters” theme: … It's hard to believe that the Bush dynasty, which limped away in disgrace after smashing our economy and the globe, has spawned another political dynasty.

Poll: 51.8% plan to vote no on question 1  —  in - Central Maine Newspapers - Portland Press Herald  —  According to new poll data, 51.8 percent of people who plan to vote in November say they will vote no or are leaning in that direction on question 1, the people's veto of Maine's same-sex marriage law.

Stanley McChrystal's Long War  —  Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal stepped off the whirring Black Hawk and headed straight into town.  He had come to Garmsir, a dusty outpost along the Helmand River in southern Afghanistan, to size up the war that President Obama has asked him to save.

Perils of a Talking Head  —  Anyone who regularly does TV interviews knows that one is always required to do a pre-interview in which a producer feels you out as to what you will say in response to certain hypothetical questions.  It would be simpler if they just came out and said …

Health Insurers Emerge as Obama's Top Foe in Reform Effort  —  Now they have an enemy.  —  For months, President Obama and his administration waged their fight for a health-care overhaul without a clear opponent, even courting the industry executives and interest groups that helped kill reform efforts 15 years ago.

Daily Number: 15% - America's Health Care is ... Fairly Average  —  Only 15% of Americans believe that the U.S. has the best health care in the world.  Read more  —  THE TOP STORY INDEX  —  New Media Index  —  Celebrity Jeopardy: Polanski on Blogs  —  8 Oct 09 The Roman Polanski saga …

Why GOP Leader Opposes Hate Crimes Protections for Gays  —  Last week, House Republican Leader John Boehner objected to House passage of a bill that would expand hate crime laws and make it a federal crime to assault people on the basis of their sexual orientation.

Boehner downplays Dow 10,000  —  Dow 10,000 just isn't that big a deal, House Republican leader John Boehner said Wednesday morning.  —  And anyone who places significance on the stock market hitting this symbolic number is “certainly not talking to the American people.”

Still on the Job, but at Half the Pay  —  MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — The dark blue captain's hat, with its golden oak-leaf clusters, sits atop a bookcase in Bryan Lawlor's home, out of reach of the children.  The uniform their father wears still displays the four stripes of a commercial airline captain, but the hat stays home.

Obama to avoid the rabble on S.F. visit  —  The White House's fear of protests from Code Pink and other left-wingers has put the brakes on President Obama making any public appearances during his visit to San Francisco this week.  —  Obama is scheduled to parachute into Liberalville …

10/14: President Obama's Approval Rating at 53%...Loses More Ground Among Independents  —  President Barack Obama maintains the support of a majority of registered voters nationwide.  However, he continues to slide in the eyes of Independent voters.  Currently, 53% of voters approve of the job …

The rumours of the dollar's death are much exaggerated  —  It is the season of dollar panic.  These panic-mongers are varied: gold bugs, fiscal hawks and many others agree that the dollar, the dominant currency since the first world war, is on its death bed.  Hyperinflationary collapse is in store.

Apartment residents told to take down U.S. flags  —  Residents of the Oaks Apartments in Albany have reportedly been told to take down their flags.  Even this one, on the back of a motorcycle, is part of the reported ban.  —  ALBANY, Ore. - At the Oaks Apartments in Albany …

Blue Cross group blasts reform legislation  —  Premiums will rise up to 50 percent for individual policies and 19 percent for small group plans if healthcare reform passes, a new report released by a major health industry trade group claims.  —  Sponsored by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association …

Public Opinion in Mexico on U.S. Immigration: Zogby Poll Examines Attitudes  —  Steven A. Camarota is the Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies.  —  A new survey by Zogby International finds that people in Mexico think that granting legal status to illegal immigrants …

Congressional Budget Chief Says Climate Bill Would Cost Jobs  —  WASHINGTON — The head of the Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday countered Obama administration claims that a landmark climate bill would be a boost to the economy.  —  President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats championing …

It's On: CBS News Investigates Letterman Scandal  —  Over the past year, Armen Keteyian, the chief investigative correspondent for CBS News, has reported on cyber-thieves in New Jersey, murder-for-hire plots in Wisconsin and teenage bomb-makers in Atlanta.  But these days, Mr. Keteyian is hard …

Americans, In Reversal, Now Back Afghan Troop Surge  —  As President Obama mulls the military's request for a big troop build-up in Afghanistan, Americans have swung in favor of such a move, according to a new IBD/TIPP Poll.  —  The survey of 927 adults found that a plurality of 48% favors sending …

FTC Reassures Bloggers - Big Brother Isn't Watching  —  Bloggers of the world, relax - the Federal Trade Commission is not out to get you.  That was the message from Mary Engle, associate director for advertising practices at the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Christie Vilsack: “I'm well-qualified” to run for US Senate  —  Christie Vilsack, Tom Vilsack (file photo)  —  Christie Vilsack, the wife of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, sounds as if she may be the “mystery candidate” the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party said was poised to run for the U.S. Senate.

Now who loves America more?  —  Twenty-five years ago, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick famously lambasted Democrats as “blame America firsters” and a party plagued by “self-criticism and self-denigration” of America.  It was a speech at pace with an emerging political stereotype …