Reid: Coons, ‘my pet,’ will win  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday predicted to The Hill that Democratic Senate candidate Chris Coons will safely win the Nov. 2 general election against GOP nominee Christine O'Donnell.  —  Reid talked up the New Castle County executive following …

Catty Carla Bruni lifts lid on Michelle Obama's ‘hellish’ job  —  Michelle Obama thinks being America's First Lady is ‘hell’, Carla Bruni reveals today in a wildly indiscreet new book.  —  Miss Bruni reveals that Mrs Obama replied when asked about her position as the U.S. president's wife: 'Don't ask!

Warren to Unofficially Lead Consumer Agency  —  WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren, who conceived of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will oversee its establishment as an assistant to President Obama, an official briefed on the decision said Wednesday evening.

Battleground Poll: Voters see November GOP takeover of the House and Senate  —  Voters, by a 9-point margin, believe Republicans will pick up both the House and the Senate, even though they are evenly divided over whom they intend to back in six weeks, according to a new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll.

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009  —  The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that real median household income in the United States in 2009 was $49,777, not statistically different from the 2008 median.  —  The nation's official poverty rate in 2009 was 14.3 percent …

Limbaugh Taken In: The Judge Was Not Loaded for Bear  —  PENSACOLA, Fla. — Anyone listening to Rush Limbaugh's radio show Tuesday could be forgiven for thinking that Judge Roger Vinson has the federal government dead in his sights.  —  Mr. Limbaugh spent some time profiling Judge Vinson …

Oh, Dear Lord  —  Did we know about this?  Obama the Musical:

Parsing the Polls on Health Reform  —  The last few polls on health care reform have been discouraging.  Public support for the Affordable Care Act does not seem to be rising.  If anything, it seems to be falling, as a quick glance at Pollster.com will confirm.

On the Advice of the FBI, Cartoonist Molly Norris Disappears From View  —  Her work won't be in Seattle Weekly anymore, or anywhere else.  —  You may have noticed that Molly Norris' comic is not in the paper this week.  That's because there is no more Molly.  —  The gifted artist is alive and well, thankfully.

Teachers union helped unseat Fenty  —  The American Federation of Teachers spent heavily to unseat Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and to put the breaks on his aggressive efforts to shake up the city's schools system.  —  The national union spent roughly $1 million in contributions …

The big double dip: Not one but two tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans  —  Economists and newspapers are reporting that the recession may be heading for a double dip.  Well, it might interest you to know that while most working families are in the economic struggle of their lives …

Charlie Crist listed 9th on ballot for U.S. Senate  —  TALLAHASSEE — In three successful statewide elections, Charlie Crist's name was at the top of the ballot.  But as a nonpartisan candidate for the Senate, he shows up ninth in a field of 10 candidates, sandwiched between Rick Tyler and Lewis Jerome Armstrong.

Shock Audio: Facing ‘Obligations’ From Leadership, Democrat Congresswoman Leaves Voicemail for Lobbyist Cash  —  A couple weeks ago, House Member Eleanor Holmes Norton made a fundraising call to a lobbyist.  The lobbyist wasn't available, so Holmes Norton left a voicemail.

U.S. Debates Response to Targeted Killing Lawsuit  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, fresh off a victory in persuading federal judges to dismiss a torture case for fear of revealing state secrets, is divided over using similar tactics to try to block a lawsuit over government efforts …

Only Americans remain upbeat about Afghanistan: poll  —  (BERLIN) - Confidence in Afghanistan's prospects is crumbling in the West, with only Americans showing prevailing optimism about stabilising the war-ravaged country, a poll showed Wednesday.  —  The wide-ranging Transatlantic Trends study …