Brother of Afghan Leader Is Said to Be on C.I.A. Payroll  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country's booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years …

EXCLUSIVE: Democratic donors rewarded with W.H. perks  —  Offered access to bowling alley, movie theater  —  During his first nine months in office, President Obama has quietly rewarded scores of top Democratic donors with VIP access to the White House, private briefings with administration advisers …

Arnold to SF: F**k You  —  It was hardly a bill of cosmic import, but Assemblymember Tom Ammiano's AB 1176 would have helped the Port of San Francisco with some financing issues.  It's the kind of bill that legislators offer on behalf of their cities all the time — and generally, they are non-controversial.

FIRST THOUGHTS: BUSINESS AS USUAL  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg  —  *** Business as usual: We're soon coming up on the one-year anniversary of Barack Obama's presidential win.  And one of the messages he used during the two-year campaign …

Defections have Dems ISO Plan B  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's appeals for party unity landed with a thud Tuesday with the very group he needs for his public-option push to pay off: centrists who hold the key to health reform.  —  And not just any centrists but one who makes liberals see red …

CNN Poll: 7 in 10 say Palin not qualified to be president  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - More than seven in 10 Americans think Sarah Palin is not qualified to be president, according to a new national poll.  —  Seventy-one percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey …

Steele Still On Board With Scozzafava  —  As high-profile Republicans (other than Newt Gingrich) flock to endorse Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in New York's 23rd district special election over the Republican in the three-way race, Dede Scozzafava (R) still has one prominent supporter besides …

GMAC Asks for Fresh Lifeline  —  Lender in Advanced Talks for Third Slug of Taxpayer Cash — at Least $2.8 Billion More  —  In a stark reminder of how some battered financial firms remain dependent on government lifelines, GMAC Financial Services Inc. and the Treasury Department …

Times Buyout Package Reveals More than Expected  —  Just over a week ago, every person in the Times newsroom was sent out a buyout package via UPS Next Day Air.  If 100 staffers don't raise their hands by Dec. 7, there will be layoffs.  —  We got our hands on one of the thickish brown envelopes that went to employees' homes.

News gets worse for the MSM  —  There have been a lot of bad days recently for what's come to be known as the mainstream media — or MSM — but Monday was one of the worst.  —  New circulation figures showed that big city papers had lost as much as a quarter of their circulation in the past six months.

Pew Political IQ Poll: Republicans Consistently More Knowledgeable  —  You likely won't see this poll result elsewhere, so I thought I'd highlight it here.  This is a Pew Political IQ test conducted over the phone with 1,002 adults from Oct. 1-4.  They were asked 12 questions …

Traitor Joe  —  Blogs and Stories  —  The ex-Democrat now says he'll join the GOP in a health-care filibuster.  Paul Begala on Lieberman's latest and most shameless betrayal.  —  It's journalistic shorthand to note a politician's party identification and state after his or her name.

Hagel to lead Obama's intelligence oversight panel  —  Former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel will soon have a new role in the Obama administration, he will be named co-chair of President's Intelligence Advisory Board.  —  In that capacity, Hagel will be charged with overseeing the work …

Early reports: Job gains signal stimulus impact  —  WASHINGTON — States have reported using stimulus money to create or save more than 388,000 jobs so far this year, buttressing the Obama administration's claim that the $787 billion plan has had a significant impact on the economy.

A Conversation With Gore Vidal  —  At age 83, Gore Vidal remains a sharp provocateur, as irascible and irreverent as ever.  —  Snapshots in History's Glare, a new memoir by Vidal released this month, renews interest in this American literary and cultural icon—offering readers a pictorial look …

Push to Legalize Marijuana Gains Ground in California  —  SAN FRANCISCO — These are heady times for advocates of legalized marijuana in California — and only in small part because of the newly relaxed approach of the federal government toward medical marijuana.

WHAT OPT-OUT STATES WOULD ‘PAY FOR’.... Greta Van Susteren claimed last night that states that chose not to give their residents the choice of a public option would “still have to pay for it.”  She didn't specific what “it” referred to.  —  This seems to be catching on, though, as a key conservative talking point.

Bay Bridge closed after repair falls apart  —  (10-27) 21:12 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — Three pieces of an emergency repair to the Bay Bridge's cantilever section made over Labor Day weekend snapped and crashed onto the upper deck of the span late Tuesday afternoon, striking three vehicles and forcing …

Washington Sketch: A hostile climate for Sen. Inhofe the warming skeptic  —  It must be very lonely being the last flat-earther.  —  Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, committed climate-change denier, found himself in just such a position Tuesday morning as the Senate environment committee …