Election 2010: Alaska Senate  —  Alaska Senate: Miller (R) Holds Double-Digit Lead Over McAdams (D), Murkowski  —  Republican Joe Miller attracts 42% of the vote in the first Rasmussen Reports poll of the Alaska Senate race since GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski announced her write-in campaign to try to keep her job.

Reid calls Gillibrand the ‘hottest’ member at fundraiser  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had an unusual form of praise for New York's junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, this morning at the fundraiser Mayor Bloomberg hosted for him at his townhouse - referring to her as “the hottest member” …

Major health insurers to stop offering new child-only policies  —  Some of the country's most prominent health insurance companies have decided to stop offering new child-only plans, rather than comply with rules in the new health-care law that will require such plans to start accepting children …

Watchdog: Christine O'Donnell “Clearly a Criminal”  —  Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, today filed a pair of complaints concerning Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell's use of more than $20,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses.

Close Race in West Virginia  —  PPP's first look at the West Virginia Senate contest finds a very tight race with John Raese up 46-43 on Joe Manchin, a result within the poll's margin of error.  —  The contest provides a fascinating choice for voters in the state who love their Democratic Governor …

Promise to Repeal Gay Ban Faces Filibuster  —  In his State of the Union address last January, President Obama repeated a campaign-trail promise to the gay community.  —  By the end of the year, Mr. Obama said, he would seek a full repeal of the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy …

New poll: Tax cut fight is winner for Dems in battleground states  —  If this new poll conducted for the labor powerhouse SEIU doesn't persuade Dems to hold a vote on extending the middle class tax cuts, then nothing will.  —  The toplines of the poll, which were first reported by Alex Burns …

A Message from Israel  —  Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, spoke at three Washington, D.C. synagogues on Yom Kippur—at Adas Israel at Kol Nidrei services last Friday night, then at Washington Hebrew Congregation Saturday morning and at Kesher Israel in the afternoon.

Can I ‘call him an a—hole?’  Andrew Cuomo in tizzy after GOP foe Carl Paladino questions his manhood  —  ALBANY - Stung by Carl Paladino's below-the-belt attacks, an angry Andrew Cuomo summoned his war council on Monday to figure out how to fight back against his slash-and-burn GOP rival.

The Sarah Palin puzzle: A plurality disapproves yet a growing majority now identifies with her views  —  For someone who's so widely deemed unqualified to be president and disapproved by a plurality of Americans, Sarah Palin the politician sure has convinced an awful lot of people that she thinks like they do.

Twitter Mouseover Security Flaw Affecting Thousands of Users [WARNING]  —  Update (10:00 a.m. ET): A spokesperson for Twitter tells us “This should now be fully patched and is no longer exploitable.”  —  A new Twitter security flaw has been widely exploited on thousands of Twitter accounts …

Jacob Lew, Obama Nominee And Former Citigroup Executive, Doesn't Believe Deregulation Led To Financial Crisis  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … A former top executive at Citigroup who participated in the deregulation of Wall Street during the Clinton administration and recently was tapped …

Fund-raiser: Jackson behind $6M Senate-seat scheme  —  Feds had questions about Senate-seat deal and flights for a Jackson acquaintance  —  Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. directed a major political fund-raiser to offer former Gov. Rod Blagojevich millions of dollars in campaign cash in return …

Afghan Boys Are Prized, So Girls Live the Part  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Six-year-old Mehran Rafaat is like many girls her age.  She likes to be the center of attention.  She is often frustrated when things do not go her way.  Like her three older sisters, she is eager to discover …

White House SAP Issued on Defense Bill  —  The White House has issued a Statement of Administration Policy regarding the consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act.  —  In relevant part, it notes:  —  Policy Concerning Homosexuality in the Armed Forces: The Administration supports section 591 …

Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary  —  Technical information:  —  Employment: (202) 691-6559 * sminfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/sae  —  Unemployment: (202) 691-6392 * lausinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/lau  —  Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov