Bush Campaign Chief and Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman: I'm Gay  —  Ken Mehlman, President Bush's campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has told family and associates that he is gay.  —  Mehlman arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently, he said in an interview.

Miller's lead slims; Murkowski awaits absentees  —  Joe Miller's lead over U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski slightly narrowed to 1,668 votes with all the election precincts counted Wednesday.  A stunned Murkowski said she is not giving up hope until absentee ballots are counted starting next week.

Democrats privately fear House prospects worsening  —  Top Democrats are growing markedly more pessimistic about holding the House, privately conceding that the summertime economic and political recovery they were banking on will not likely materialize by Election Day.

Alleged anti-Muslim attacker works at pro-Park51 group  —  The apparent anti-Muslim assault on a New York city cabbie by a man shouting “Assalamu Alaikum.  Consider this a checkpoint” produced an immediate round of recriminations over its connection to opposition to a New York Islamic Center and an apparent rising tide of Islamophobia.

Tea Party Group Hit With Death Threats  —  One of Washington's principal supporters of the Tea Party movement, former GOP Majority Leader Dick Armey's FreedomWorks, has been receiving death threats and profanity-laced phone calls as it gets involved in the fall elections.

Fire Alan Simpson  —  I always thought that the deficit commission was a bad idea; it has only looked worse over time, as the buzz is that Democrats are caving in to Republicans, leaning ever further toward an all-cuts, no taxes solution, including a sharp rise in the retirement age.

Key Karzai Aide in Corruption Inquiry Is Linked to C.I.A.  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — The aide to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive corruption investigation is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Afghan and American officials.

TRENDING: New York's Bloomberg: We are all Muslims  —  Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of “God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World,” is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor.  —  By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN

Party-less Charlie Crist faces harsh reality  —  WEST MIAMI, Fla. — First, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was supposed to be the Republican nominee for Senate.  Then he seemed on track to be the de facto Democratic candidate.  Now, following Rep. Kendrick Meek's victory in Tuesday's Democratic primary …

Corbett, Toomey leading, poll says  —  F&M poll director says the only question is how badly Democrats will lose in November election  —  Intelligencer Journal Lancaster New Era  —  Republicans Pat Toomey and Tom Corbett are running far ahead of their Democratic opponents in congressional …

Quayle surprises even himself  —  After a cascade of accusations and ever-shifting denials that he wrote for a raunchy website under the name of a fictional porn star, it seemed even Ben Quayle thought he was going to lose a 10-way Republican primary in Arizona.

10 week to-do list: Your ideas for Obama, Republicans  —  (CNN) — Strategists on both sides of the political aisle weighed in this week on what President Obama and Republicans must do before the November midterms to give their parties a boost.  —  The 10-week to-do lists resulted in thousands …

Glenn Beck rally will be a measure of the tea party's strength  —  When Fox News and talk radio host Glenn Beck comes to Washington this weekend to headline a rally intended to “restore honor” to America, he will test the strength - and potentially expose the weaknesses …

Despite Reform, Banks Have Room for Risky Deals  —  When Congress passed a new financial regulation bill last month, it sought to prevent federally insured banks from making speculative bets using their own money.  But that will not stop banks from making bets that some critics deem risky …

FACT CHECK: Stimulus assessments overly optimistic  —  WASHINGTON - The Obama administration claimed this week that $100 billion invested in innovative technologies under the economic stimulus law is “transforming the American economy” by putting the nation on track for technological breakthroughs …

SEC Adopts New Measures to Facilitate Director Nominations by Shareholders  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  —  2010-155  —  Washington, D.C., Aug. 25, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted changes to the federal proxy and other rules to facilitate the rights of shareholders …

Z STREET v IRS Commissioner  —  IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA  —  Z STREET,  —  Plaintiff,  —  v.  —  IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS  —  COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE,  —  Defendant.  —  COMPLAINT  —  COMES NOW the Plaintiff …

African-American leaders and intellectuals express dissatisfaction with President Obama  —  With President Barack Obama's approval ratings dipping below 50%, members of his strongest voting bloc have also started to voice displeasure with the way he has chosen to govern.

Another ‘Moderate’ GZ Mosque Supporter Can't Bring Himself to Call Hamas a Terrorist Organization  —  Last night, I was on David Asman's Fox Business Channel show, Scoreboard, debating Imam Dawoud Kringle of the New York State prison system, a GZ mosque supporter.