Most support public option for health insurance, poll finds  —  Americans still divided on overall packages  —  A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and wins clear majority support from the public.

Scozzafava Calls the Cops  —  Lowville, N.Y.  —  Tonight, Dede Scozzafava, the Republican candidate for the November 3 special election in the 23rd congressional district, spoke to about 100 Republicans at the Lewis County GOP dinner at the Elks Lodge 1605.

Obama: Afghan runoff ‘important step’  —  For weeks now, the White House has added a caveat to nearly every public discussion of deliberations underway about the way forward in Afghanistan:  —  The United States must have an effective “partner” in the government of Afghanistan as it sets a new strategy for an eight-year-old war.

Christie May Have Gotten Improper Aid  —  When news broke in August that the former United States attorney, Christopher J. Christie, had lent $46,000 to a top aide in the federal prosecutor's office, he said he was merely helping a friend in need.  He also said the aide, Michele Brown …

Rights Watchdog, Lost in the Mideast  —  AS the founder of Human Rights Watch, its active chairman for 20 years and now founding chairman emeritus, I must do something that I never anticipated: I must publicly join the group's critics.  Human Rights Watch had as its original mission …

Obama's dumb war with Fox News  —  There's only one thing dumber than picking a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel — picking a fight with people who don't even have to buy ink.  The Obama administration's war on Fox News is dumb on multiple levels.

Financial Giants Donating Little to Obama Party  —  WASHINGTON — The Wall Street giants that received a financial lifeline from Washington may have no compunction about paying big bonuses to their dealmakers and traders.  But their willingness to deliver “thank you” gifts to President Obama …

DeMint watches out for all of us  —  Recently your newspaper published a letter from state Rep. Bakari Sellers attacking U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint and his opposition to congressional earmarks.  —  There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars …

Justice concludes black voters need Democratic Party  —  U.S. blocks N.C. city's nonpartisan vote  —  Voters in this small city decided overwhelmingly last year to do away with the party affiliation of candidates in local elections, but the Obama administration recently overruled the electorate …

‘You Have Atomic Bombs, but We Have Suicide Bombers.’  —  A NERVOUS-LOOKING Pakistani soldier pointed a rocket-propelled grenade at our pickup truck in late January.  The Taliban guard beside me loaded his rifle and ordered me to put a scarf over  —  my face.

Reid offers doctors a deal  —  The White House and Democratic leaders are offering doctors a deal: They'll freeze cuts in Medicare payments to doctors in exchange for doctors' support of healthcare reform.  —  At a meeting on Capitol Hill last week with nearly a dozen doctors groups …

Maryland scientist arrested for attempted espionage for Israel  —  The FBI has arrested a former senior NASA space scientist who worked in the George H.W. Bush White House space office for attempted espionage for Israel, the Justice Department announced today.

Reid plan: ‘Vaporize’ 2010 GOP opponent  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is prepared to run a sharply negative campaign if that's what it takes to win reelection next year, with a top adviser predicting that the Nevada Democrat will “vaporize” his Republican challengers with attack ads.

Biden says he first said no to being VP  —  (CNN) - It was an oft-repeated anecdote on the 2008 campaign trail: then-Sen. Joe Biden accepted the request to be the No. 2 on the Democratic presidential ticket at a Delaware dentist office as his wife was undergoing a root canal.

At rescued banks, perks keep rolling  —  Bosses benefit after bailout Fringe compensation rose 4 percent last year  —  NEW YORK — Even as the nation's biggest financial firms were struggling and the federal government was spending hundreds of billions of dollars to save many of them …

GET TO KNOW A CONGRESSMAN  —  Gregg Harper says at the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, ‘we hunt liberal, tree-hugging Democrats, although it does seem like a waste of good ammunition.’ |  Why do you think the majority of congressional representatives are lawyers, like yourself?

Employers Hold Off on Hiring  —  Companies across the economy are holding off on hiring even as the profit outlook improves, amid economic uncertainty and their own success at raising productivity in rough waters.  —  Hiring always lags behind in economic recoveries, but the outlook this time is worse, many economists say.