The Public Option: Rumor Check  —  A rumor is making the rounds that the White House and Senator Reid are pursuing different strategies on the public option.  Those rumors are absolutely false.  —  In his September 9th address to Congress, President Obama made clear that he supports …

Afghan protest over ‘burnt Koran’  —  There have been protests in the Afghan capital, Kabul, over allegations that foreign troops in the country burnt a copy of the Koran.  —  Hundreds of Kabul University students led the latest protest, burning an effigy of US President Barack Obama.

Newt Gingrich Says He May Run for President in 2012  —  Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker and perennial big thinker in the Republican party, said this morning that he will likely run for president in 2012 if he and his wife, Callista, assess the field of candidates in 2011 and feel “a requirement as citizens that we run.”

Online auction to raise funds in Scott Roeder case  —  An Army of God manual.  A prison cookbook compiled by a woman doing time for abortion clinic bombings and arsons.  An autographed bullhorn.  —  These are among the items that abortion foes plan to auction on eBay and other Web sites …

Women pay up to 50% more for health insurance premiums  —  Checking the “female” box when buying health insurance is likely to cost extra — perhaps up to 50 percent more than a man would pay for the same coverage.  —  Gender-rating — or what some term as flat-out sexual discrimination …

Prosecutors Turn Tables on Student Journalists  —  EVANSTON, Ill. — For more than a decade, classes of students at Northwestern University's journalism school have been scrutinizing the work of prosecutors and the police.  The investigations into old crimes, as part of the Medill Innocence Project …

Obama's pointless bipartisanship.  —  From the magazine issue dated Nov 2, 2009  —  “There she is, the Party of One!” cried Sen. Barbara Mikulski when she saw Sen. Olympia Snowe outside the Senate chamber last week.  Mikulski, in a wheel-chair because of a broken ankle, rolled closer to the object of her praise.

Va. GOP makes timely adjustment to changes in state  —  McDonnell looks to end string of Democratic victories  —  In the 12 years since James S. Gilmore III last claimed the governor's mansion for Republicans, Virginia has undergone dramatic demographic changes, becoming more populous, diverse, wealthy and educated.

New Nukes!  —  Since taking office, President Obama has consistently asserted that one of his foremost priorities is to transform America's energy landscape and move us away from high levels of carbon emissions and imported energy toward clean energy and less foreign dependence.

Dems push for benefits to kick in by 2010  —  Democrats are pushing Senate leaders and the White House to speed up key benefits in the health reform bill to 2010, eager to give the party something to show taxpayers for their $900 billion investment in an election year.

Police in £9m scheme to log ‘domestic extremists’  —  Thousands of activists monitored on network of overlapping databases  —  Police are gathering the personal details of thousands of activists who attend political meetings and protests, and storing their data on a network of nationwide intelligence databases.

Deadly Blasts Rock Baghdad, Killing Dozens  —  BAGHDAD—Two powerful car bombs near high-profile government offices rocked the capital on Sunday in the deadliest attack here this year, killing at least 136 people and raising fresh worry about the capabilities of Iraq's security services ahead of national elections scheduled for January.

“Showdown In Chicago”: Protesters Crash Bankers Convention, (VIDEO, IMAGES)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Via National People's Action, here is some footage from the protesters at the ABA conference.  From the footage, it's clear there are some strong emotions from the protesters.

In Defense of the ‘Balloon Boy’ Dad  —  FOR a country desperate for good news, the now-deflated “balloon boy” spectacle would seem to be the perfect tonic.  As Wolf Blitzer of CNN summed up the nation's unrestrained joy upon learning that the imperiled boy had never been in any peril whatsoever …