A changed race  —  Owens is best-equipped to represent NNY  —  Dierdre K. Scozzafava's decision to suspend her campaign for the 23rd Congressional District seat is a shocking development in what had already been an extraordinary race.  —  In her statement Saturday morning …

Jarrett: GOP ‘more and more extreme’  —  White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said Sunday on ABC's “This Week” that the rise of a Conservative Party challenger in a closely watched upstate New York House election shows that the Republican Party leadership is “becoming more and more extreme, and more and more marginalized.”

Doug Hoffman: The Glenn Beck Candidate  —  What exactly does Doug Hoffman stand for?  And who is he standing with?  Would you believe ... Glenn Beck?  —  At the endorsements page of Doug Hoffman For Congress, we find a link to the “Gold List” at 912candidates.org, consisting of politicians who have …

How Goldman secretly bet on the U.S. housing crash  —  WASHINGTON — In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices …

McDonnell extends advantage in Times-Dispatch poll  —  Republican Bob McDonnell appears poised to win the governorship and lead a GOP sweep Tuesday, ending nearly a decade of reverses for his party, according to The Richmond Times-Dispatch Poll.  —  McDonnell is favored by 53 percent …

Obamas give out treats, fruit to White House trick-or-treaters  —  The first lady was dressed as a leopard, with a smear of eyeliner, fuzzy ears and a spotted orange-and-black top.  The president was dressed as a middle-aged dad, with a black cardigan, checkered shirt and sensible brown slacks.

Alan Grayson, the Liberals' Problem Child  —  WASHINGTON — On paper, Representative Alan Grayson, a freshman Democrat from Florida, seems a bit stiff: degrees from Harvard and Harvard Law; a résumé that includes clerking for the United States Court of Appeals under Judges Antonin Scalia …

Italian Police Release Mafia Hit Video: Double Deja Vu?  —  The issue in the United States of how bystanders react — or do not react — to a crime that has unfolded before them has now emerged in Italy, on a somewhat smaller scale in an incident that seems right out of The Godfather, The Sopranos or GoodFellas.

Afghanistan poll in disarray after pull-out  —  President Hamid Karzai's rival in the second round of the Afghan presidential election has announced in Kabul that he is withdrawing from the poll.  —  “I will not participate in the election,” Dr Abdullah told supporters …