Democrat Ben Nelson Draws a Line in the Sand on Health Care  —  Nelson Won't Vote for Health Care Bill That Looks Like the House Version  —  In a warning sign for the White House, Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska tells ABC News that he'll vote to block any health care bill that looks like the bill passed by the House.

The Best Speech Obama's Given Since...Maybe Ever  —  Today, at Ft. Hood.  I guarantee: they'll be teaching this one in rhetoric classes.  It was that good.  My gloss won't do it justice.  Yes, I'm having a Chris Matthews-chill-running-up-my- leg moment, but sometimes, the man …

Republicans Edge Ahead of Democrats in 2010 Vote  —  Registered voters prefer Republicans for the House, 48% to 44%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans have moved ahead of Democrats by 48% to 44% among registered voters in the latest update on Gallup's generic congressional ballot for the 2010 House elections …

Top Obama Advisers Favor Adding Troops in Afghanistan  —  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton are coalescing around a proposal to send 30,000 or more additional American troops …

Pelosi's victory for women  —  Sure, her healthcare bill is a mess, but her gritty maneuvering shows her mettle.  Plus: Gainsbourg and Gaga  —  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi scored a giant gain for feminism last weekend.  In shoving her controversy-plagued healthcare reform bill …

Blackwater Said to Approve Iraqi Payoffs After Shootings  —  WASHINGTON — Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode …

D.C. Sniper John Allen Muhammad Put to Death  —  The D.C. Sniper Who Terrorized Americans in 2002 Was Executed Tonight in Virginia  —  Just after 9 p.m. this evening — seven years and 12 days after he was captured and later charged with orchestrating a cold-blooded shooting spree …

Tampa police: Marine reservist attacked Greek priest he mistook for terrorist  —  TAMPA — A Marine reservist armed with a tire iron beat and chased a man he thought was an Arab terrorist and even called 911 to say he was detaining the man, police said.  —  But the man he assaulted was actually …

Even Fox News Fact-Checks Palin's Claims About Dollar Coin  —  Sarah Palin's public pronouncements have now reached an amazing point — where even Fox News is fact-checking her.  —  As Fox News anchor Bret Baier noted this evening, picking up on a Politico report, Palin said this past Friday …

Stimulus job boost in state exaggerated, review finds  —  Errors, incomplete data, estimated positions go into federal report  —  Revere spent $485,500 in stimulus funds to install solar panels on the roof of the Beachmont School and claimed to have created 64 jobs on the project.  (Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

David Ignatius on saluting the military  —  In the aftermath of the Fort Hood shootings, some commentaries have examined the damage to the U.S. Army from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  A few have spoken about the alleged shooter, Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, as an extreme version of what can happen with an overstressed force.

Blackouts Plague Energy-Rich Venezuela  —  CARACAS, Venezuela — This country may be an energy colossus, with the largest conventional oil reserves outside the Middle East and one of the world's mightiest hydroelectric systems, but that has not prevented it from enduring serious electricity …

AIG's Benmosche Threatens to Jump Ship  —  Chafing Under Government Oversight, Chief Executive Tells Board He's ‘Done’; ‘An Impossible Situation’  —  Robert Benmosche has told the board of American International Group Inc. that he is considering stepping down as chief executive …

‘No easy way out’ for Dems on abortion  —  The sudden spasm of intense debate over abortion on Capitol Hill this week threatens not only to stall the passage of health care legislation, but also to shatter the delicate cease-fire that has governed the abortion issue during the Obama era.

Veterans' Day / Armistice Day  —  CAP has the day off for Veterans' Day, as does much of Washington DC though not, as best I can tell, the non-DC private sector economy.  —  I sort of wish we called our November 11 observance Armistice Day like they do in other countries.

In Afghanistan, Taliban leaving al-Qaeda behind  —  Shifting power dynamic could influence where U.S. focuses firepower  —  KABUL — As violence rises in Afghanistan, the power balance between insurgent groups has shifted, with a weakened al-Qaeda relying increasingly on the emboldened Taliban …

60% Want Fort Hood Shooting Investigated as Terrorist Act  —  Sixty percent (60%) of likely voters nationwide say last week's shootings at Fort Hood should be investigated by military authorities as a terrorist act.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 27% …

Bear Juror Says U.S. Case So Weak She'd Invest With Defendants  —  Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) — Prosecutors missed the mark so widely in the fraud trial of Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin that a juror said after their acquittal she would invest with them if she had the money.

Taxi boss jailed for threats against daughter  —  The city's taxi union boss was handed a year in jail Tuesday for what a judge deemed an “honour crime.”  —  Yusef Salam Al Mezel, 44, had pleaded guilty to criminally harassing his 23-year-old daughter, Eman, over three weeks in July 2007.