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.

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 …

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'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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Maryland Scientist Charged with Attempted Espionage  —  A Maryland scientist who once worked in varying capacities for the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been arrested for attempted espionage, David Kris …

‘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.

Washington Sketch: When breaking news is broken  —  Afew minutes after 11 on Monday morning, investors got a surprising bit of news on CNBC.  —  “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is now getting ready to throw its weight behind strong climate legislation,” the business channel's reporter announced, as “Breaking News” flashed on the screen.

Iran Double-Crosses Obama  —  This morning, I noted that Iran's government is telling the Iranian people that the Obama administration has consented to Iranian enrichment of uranium, thereby dismaying our European allies.  I linked to, but did not discuss in detail, a Time article that appeared today.

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.

Afghan Leader Said to Accept Runoff After Election Audit  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Under heavy international pressure, President Hamid Karzai appears set to concede as early as Tuesday that he fell short of a first-round victory in the nation's disputed presidential election …

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 …

U.S. Support for Legalizing Marijuana Reaches New High  —  Majority in the West favors taxing marijuana sales to boost state revenues  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup's October Crime poll finds 44% of Americans in favor of making marijuana legal and 54% opposed.

The Race to Save Lehman Brothers  —  In the summer of 2008, two months before Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, Richard S. Fuld Jr., the firm's chairman, was continuing his desperate efforts to find a lifeline.  They had begun in March, shortly after the demise of Bear Stearns …

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 …

Barnes & Noble Reader Out Tuesday  —  A new electronic book reader is expected Tuesday from book seller Barnes & Noble Inc. that will challenge readers from Amazon.com Inc. and Sony Corp. with a color touch-screen and $259 price, according to a planned ad for the device.