No endorsement in U.S. Senate race  —  Californians are left with a deeply unsatisfying choice for the U.S. Senate this year.  The incumbent, Democrat Barbara Boxer, has failed to distinguish herself during her 18 years in office.  There is no reason to believe that another six-year term …

UN to appoint Earth contact for aliens  —  THE United Nations was set today to appoint an obscure Malaysian astrophysicist to act as EarthÂ's first contact for any aliens that may come visiting.  —  Mazlan Othman, the head of the UN's little-known Office for Outer Space Affairs (Unoosa) …

What the Rich Don't Need  —  WANT to give affluent households a present worth $700 billion over the next decade?  In a period of high unemployment and fiscal austerity, this idea may seem laughable.  Amazingly, though, it is getting traction in Washington.

Democrats Unleash Ads Focusing on Rivals' Pasts  —  WASHINGTON — Democratic candidates across the country are opening a fierce offensive of negative advertisements against Republicans, using lawsuits, tax filings, reports from the Better Business Bureau and even divorce proceedings to try …

‘This Week’ Transcript: Axelrod, McConnell and Queen Rania  —  Plus, the ‘This Week’ roundtable.  —  AMANPOUR: Hello again.  And this week, the recession was finally declared over.  It officially ended June 2009, but the recovery has been slow and the voters have been losing patience.

Candidate trips on birther issue  —  Tim Walberg, the former GOP congressman running to win back his Michigan seat from freshman Democratic Rep. Mark Schauer, says he doesn't know whether President Obama was born in America or if he is a Muslim.  —  Asked on a local call-in radio show whether …

Rove Returns, With Team, Planning G.O.P. Push  —  WASHINGTON — In 2004, the Republican master strategist Karl Rove led weekly sessions at his Washington residence where, over big plates of his butter-smothered “eggies” and bacon slabs, he planned the re-election of President George W. Bush …

A'jad monster's ball  —  Tweet  —  It was a strange week for the loony strongman from Iran.  —  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's six nights in New York featured a secret sit-down with militant minister Louis Farrakhan, heckling in a hotel bar, and a fear of being rubbed out that bordered on paranoia.

Counter Islamophobia, Muslim nations urged  —  Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu urged members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to work with Western leaders to dispel misconceptions about their faith.  They met on the edge of the UN General Assembly.  —  Ihsanoglu said on Saturday …

The First Kennedy-Nixon Debate: Are We Better Off than 50 Years Ago?  —  Fifty years ago in Chicago, on Sept. 26, 1960, an enervated and emaciated Richard Nixon spent the day in seclusion in his suite at the Pick-Congress Hotel.  The GOP presidential nominee's contact with the outside world …

They're gay, conservative and proud  —  NEW YORK — Even among the gays, the right is on the rise.  —  The broad surge in the conservative grassroots made it as far as PayPal founder Peter Thiel's grand apartment overlooking New York's Union Square Tuesday night, where about 150 backers …

New Proof Wall Street Knew Its Mortgage Securities Were Subpar: Clayton Execs Testify  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  During a little-noticed hearing this week in Sacramento, Calif., a firm hired by Wall Street to analyze mortgages given to borrowers with poor credit, which were then packaged …

Exchequer vs. Economist  —  Some fellow at The Economist has taken me to task for my description of socialism and communism: “The difference between communism and socialism: Under communism, politics begins with a gun in your face; under socialism, politics ends with a gun in your face.”

Slouching Toward Washington  —  Holy Roddy McDowall.  —  Christine O'Donnell doesn't understand why monkeys can't turn into people right before her eyes.  —  Bill Maher continued his video torment of O'Donnell by releasing another old clip of her on his HBO show on Friday night …

Boehner's Top Aide Is Little Known  —  WASHINGTON — Representative John A. Boehner and Barry Jackson cut an odd figure.  —  Mr. Jackson, the chief of staff to Mr. Boehner, the House Republican leader from Ohio, is shaggy-haired and dough-faced, pale to Mr. Boehner's preternatural tan.

New Alan Grayson ad: My draft-dodging GOP opponent doesn't love America like I do  —  I hope this is the sleaziest ad of the year because, if it isn't, I don't want to see the one that is.  Where to begin?  Well, for starters, the photo of Teacups with the elderly man in the Marine Corps League hat suggests …