HER TURN!  —  Chapter Four; Section 8, pages 255-257  —  By the third week in September, a “Free Sarah” campaign was under way and the press at large was growing increasingly critical of the McCain camp's decision to keep me, my family and friends back home, and my governor's staff all bottled up.

Top White House Lawyer Pushed Out  —  TOKYO (CNN) - In the first major shakeup among President Obama's senior staff, CNN has learned that White House Counsel Greg Craig is being pushed out in favor of veteran Democratic lawyer Bob Bauer because of a dispute over the struggle to close the U.S. Military prison at Guantanamo.

Key 9/11 Suspect to Be Tried in New York  —  WASHINGTON — Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, and four other men accused in the plot will be prosecuted in federal court in New York City, a federal law enforcement official said early on Friday.

RNC to opt out of abortion coverage  —  The Republican National Committee will no longer offer employees an insurance plan that covers abortion after POLITICO reported Thursday that the anti-abortion RNC's policy has covered the procedure since 1991.  —  “Money from our loyal donors …

Charles Krauthammer on the media coverage of the Fort Hood shooting  —  What a surprise — that someone who shouts “Allahu Akbar” (the “God is great” jihadist battle cry) as he is shooting up a room of American soldiers might have Islamist motives.  It certainly was a surprise to the mainstream media …

Free to Lose  —  Consider, for a moment, a tale of two countries.  Both have suffered a severe recession and lost jobs as a result — but not on the same scale.  In Country A, employment has fallen more than 5 percent, and the unemployment rate has more than doubled.

A Farewell to Lou  —  Lou Dobbs has left CNN, or maybe the other way around.  Whichever it is, an old, odd, infuriating-to-many mismatch of sober network and strident host is over.  CNN, for now anyway, changes back to something closer to the nonpartisan, straight-up news network it wants …

Get Us to 500 Donors, Or That's the Last You'll See of Lobster Girl  —  Take a good long look at this blog post.  Do you notice a woman kissing a lobster?  For longtime readers of the site, Lobster Girl is a familiar, even comforting presence.  Now move your eyes to the upper right-hand corner of the main blog page.

Obama's world record  —  It sounds tailor-made for a GOP ad:  —  Unemployment hits 9.4 percent.  President Obama flies to France.  —  Joblessness reaches 9.7 percent.  Obama jets off to Denmark.  —  The rate of those out of work soars to 10.2 percent.  Obama packs his bags for Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea.

More in U.S. Say Health Coverage Is Not Gov't.  Responsibility  —  Marks significant shift from the attitudes of the past decade  —  PRINCETON, NJ — More Americans now say it is not the federal government's responsibility to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage (50%) than say it is (47%).

Meet John Thune  —  Some days the Republican Party seems to be going crazy.  Its public image is often shaped by people who appear to have gone into government because they saw it as a steppingstone to talk radio.  —  But deep in the bowels of the G.O.P., there are serious people having quiet conversations.