GIVE VOTERS A REASON.... The latest Research 2000 poll for Daily Kos included the usual question on the generic congressional ballot, with Dems still enjoying a modest edge over Republicans, 37% to 32%, with 31% unsure.  Democratic numbers were strongest in the Northeast (53% Dems, 7% GOP) …

Tiger Woods: Injuries Caused by Wife, Not SUV  —  Tiger Woods did not suffer facial lacerations from a car accident.  They were inflicted by his wife, Elin Nordegren — according to a conversation Woods had Friday after the accident.  —  Tiger has yet to be formally interviewed …

Ten ‘principles’ could keep thinkers away from the GOP  —  Some people can't stand prosperity, my father used to say.  Today, he might be talking about Republicans, who, in the midst of declining support for President Obama's hope-and-change agenda, are considering a “purity” …

U.S. Still Running Secret Prison in Afghanistan  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — An American military detention camp in Afghanistan is still holding inmates for sometimes weeks at a time and without access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to human rights researchers …

A Climate Scientist Who Engages Skeptics  —  I've been in touch all week with Judith Curry, a seasoned climate scientist at Georgia Tech with a particular focus on hurricanes and warming.  She has no skepticism about a growing human influence on climate.  But she has split with many of her peers …

He Can't Take Another Bow  —  An icon of a White House that is coming to seem amateurish.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  This week, two points in an emerging pointillist picture of a White House leaking support—not the support of voters, though polls there show steady decline …

Uninvited Pair Met Obama; Secret Service Offers Apology  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama and his wife, Michelle, had a face-to-face encounter with the couple who sneaked into a state dinner at the White House this week, White House officials acknowledged on Friday.

The right fix for the Fed  —  For many Americans, the financial crisis, and the recession it spawned, have been devastating — jobs, homes, savings lost.  Understandably, many people are calling for change.  Yet change needs to be about creating a system that works better, not just differently.

China Jails Environmentalist Wanted in U.S.  —  DALI, China — Justin Franchi Solondz, an environmental activist from New Jersey who spent years evading charges of ecoterrorism in the United States by hiding out in China, was sentenced to three years in prison by a local court on Friday …

Dubai Debt Woes Raise Fear of Wider Problem  —  Of the many countries that gorged on debt in the boom years, Dubai stood out.  In the space of a few years the emirate's investment arm, Dubai World, racked up $59 billion in debt, borrowing to build lavish developments like a giant island shaped …

ObamaCare's Cost Could Top $6 Trillion  —  Congressional Democrats are using several budget gimmicks to disguise the cost of their health care overhaul, claiming the House and Senate bills would cost only (!) about $1 trillion over 10 years.  Now that critics have begun to correct for those budget gimmicks …

‘Cap and Trade Is Dead’  —  The recently disclosed emails and documents from University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit compromise the integrity of the United Nations' global warming reports.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  So declares Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe …

NYC mayor spent a record $102M to win a 3rd term  —  NEW YORK — Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent at least $102 million to narrowly win a third term, breaking his previous records for the most expensive self-financed political bid in U.S. history, according to a report released Friday by his campaign.