Official: Obama rejects war options  —  President seeks clarity on turnover to Afghan government, official says  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify …

Lou Dobbs to Quit CNN  —  Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, said Wednesday that he is leaving the cable news channel effective immediately.  —  Sitting before an image of an American flag on his studio set, he said …

Fort Hood shootings suspect may have wired money to Pakistan  —  dmichaels@dallasnews.com  —  WASHINGTON - Authorities have been examining whether Fort Hood massacre suspect Nidal Malik Hasan wired money to Pakistan in recent months, an action that one senior lawmaker said would raise serious questions …

Recanvassing shows NY-23 race tightens even as Rep. Bill Owens is sworn into House seat … Washington — Conservative Doug Hoffman conceded the race in the 23rd Congressional District last week after receiving two pieces of grim news for his campaign: He was down 5,335 votes with 93 percent …

Obama Announces Jobs Summit  —  Updated President Obama announced on Thursday that he will convene a jobs summit at the White House next month, saying “the economic growth that we've seen has not yet led to the job growth that we desperately need.”  —  “Millions of Americans, our friends …

Source: Reid considering hiking Medicare payroll tax  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is considering a provision to raise payroll taxes for the wealthy as part of a health care bill, a Democratic source told CNN.  —  The Democratic source said Reid is considering …

The sleazy advocacy of a leading “liberal hawk”  —  Peter Galbraith's vast, undisclosed financial interests in the policies he spent years advocating as an “expert.”  —  The New York Times today details the unbelievably sleazy story of Peter Galbraith, one of the Democratic Party's leading so-called …

Catholic Church gives D.C. ultimatum  —  Same-sex marriage bill, as written, called a threat to social service contracts  —  The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change …

Perry: Obama ‘hell-bent’ on socialism  —  Texas GOP Gov. Rick Perry accused President Barack Obama on Wednesday of “punishing” Texas and being “hell-bent” on turning the United States into a socialist country.  —  Speaking at a luncheon for a Midland County Republican Women's group …

U.S. Aims to Cut Deficit With TARP  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, under pressure to show it is serious about tackling the budget deficit, is seizing on an unusual target to showcase fiscal responsibility: the $700 billion financial rescue.  —  The administration wants to keep …

The agony of Fox Business  —  James Wolcott is made of sterner stuff than I am: he actually has the fortitude to watch Fox Business, where the talking heads manage to find nothing but clouds in the silver lining of a huge stock rally.  To make their point they bring on such market experts as ... John Bolton.

College preps to admit by income  —  Oversight of ‘principal picks,’ minimum score standards imposed  —  For the first time, the income levels of students' neighborhoods will help determine whether kids win seats at one of the city's elite college prep high schools or elementary schools for the gifted.