House health-care reform bill includes public option, Medicaid expansion  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will unveil a health-care reform bill on Thursday that includes a government insurance option and a historic expansion of Medicaid, although sticking points in the legislation involving abortion and immigration remain unresolved.

Obama Visits Returning War Dead  —  President Obama traveled to Dover Air Force Base early Thursday morning to meet with family members and pay his respects as the flag-draped coffins carrying bodies of 18 American troops killed this week in Afghanistan were returned to the United States.

Iowa Republicans wince at Palin fee  —  A conservative Iowa group's effort to lure Sarah Palin to its banquet next month has had an unintended effect: Rather than exciting conservatives about the prospect of a visit from the former Alaska governor, the group's plan to raise a six-figure sum …

Nervous W.H. intervened in N.J. race; top Obama adviser now in charge  —  One of President Barack Obama's key political advisers has become the central strategist in New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's bruising campaign for re-election, a race the White House desperately wants to win to avert …

U.S. Economy Started to Grow Again in the Third Quarter  —  For the first time in a year, the United States economy grew, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.  But even if a recovery is technically in the offing, job seekers likely will not begin to feel the benefits for months to come.

Gates, Crowley Spotted Together In Cambridge Bar  —  CAMBRIDGE (WBZ) ― Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley were spotted at a pub in Cambridge Wednesday night.  —  The owner of “River Gods” told WBZ the two sat in a booth together and talked for about an hour.

Democrats Ask New Jersey Secretary of State to Ignore Mismatched Signatures on Absentee Ballot Requests — By: Jim Geraghty  —  This year, New Jersey's registered voters can request a mail-in ballot for any reason.  Before 2005, voters needed to provide a reason for why they needed an absentee ballot.

‘Audacity to Win’: Excerpt by Plouffe on Obama Campaign  —  In a new memoir, The Audacity to Win, David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama's 2008 race for the White House, provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse inside the campaign.  Here's an excerpt:  —  Agony.  Ecstasy.

Report: Cash for Clunkers was a lemon  —  A study by Edmunds.com released Wednesday suggests that Cash for Clunkers mostly gave money to people who were going to buy a new car anyway.  —  American taxpayers paid a lot of cash for those clunkers: $24,000 for each new car sold, according to a study released Wednesday.

Victory for Obama Over Military Lobby  —  When the Obama administration proposed canceling a host of expensive weapons systems last spring, some of the military industry's allies in Congress assumed, as they had in the past, that they would have the final say.

Important choice  —  Scozzafava is best qualified for House  —  The national attention focused on the special election for New York's 23rd Congressional District has proved exhilarating, frustrating and slightly irrelevant.  —  Political analysts have cast the three-way race in different ways.

Politicians Butt In at Bailed-Out GM  —  Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg was no fan of the $58 billion federal rescue of General Motors Co., saying he worried taxpayer money would be wasted and the restructuring process would be vulnerable to “political pressure.”  Now the lawmaker says it's his “patriotic duty” to wade into GM's affairs.

Stimulus jobs overstated by thousands  —  WASHINGTON — An early progress report on President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan overstates by thousands the number of jobs created or saved through the stimulus program, a mistake that White House officials promise will be corrected in future reports.

Shooting at North Hollywood synagogue investigated as hate crime; man detained [Updated]  —  A gunman approached a North Hollywood synagogue this morning and shot two people before fleeing, according to police, who are investigating the attack as a hate crime.

Meme Alert: MSNBC, Left Wing Equivalent Of Fox, Proves White House Hypocrisy?  —  The White House's hard pushback against Fox News has spawned a backlash meme of sorts: That whatever the excesses of Fox, the Obama administration has no trouble benefitting from an equally biased network on the left, MSNBC.

Attorney O'Quinn killed in Houston wreck  —  Prominent Houston attorney John O'Quinn was one of two men who died this morning when their SUV slammed into a large tree on Allen Parkway after the driver apparently lost control, police said.  —  “I'm stunned.

New Hampshire paywall  —  The Union Leader just posted this banner on its website, announcing that the state's key political columnists are going behind a pay-wall.  —  My instinct is that it's essentially suicidal on this beat.  It's a fast road to their no longer being the key political columnists …

Orly Taitz Smacked Down: Birther Lawsuit Dismissed  —  Central District of California Judge David O. Carter has dismissed Barnett et al v. Obama et al, Orly Taitz's most successful lawsuit — that is, the one that got the furthest through the legal system — demanding proof of the president's citizenship.

Police: SC state attorney caught with stripper  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. — A deputy assistant attorney general who said he was on his lunch break when an officer found him with a stripper and sex toys in his sport utility vehicle has been fired, his boss said Wednesday.