McDonald's May Drop Health Plan  —  McDonald's Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul.  —  The move is one of the clearest indications …

New Yorkers outraged as bureaucrats order city to change lettering on every single street sign  —  The city will change the lettering on every single street sign - at an estimated cost of about $27.5 million - because the feds don't like the font.  —  Street names will change from all capital letters …

Senate blocks recess appointments with deal between Dems, GOP  —  Senate Democrats struck a deal Wednesday night with Republicans to keep President Obama from making recess appointments while Congress is out of town campaigning for the midterm elections.  —  Democratic leaders have agreed …

Paladino and Post reporter square off  —  Tweet  —  Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino and Post State Editor Fredric U. Dicker last night got into an angry confrontation — during which Paladino threatened, “I'll take you out.”  —  It started when Dicker asked Paladino …

Private Moment Made Public, Then a Fatal Jump  —  It started with a Twitter message on Sept. 19: “Roommate asked for the room till midnight.  I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam.  I saw him making out with a dude.  Yay.”  —  That night, the authorities say …

Many Big Donors to Democrats Cut Support  —  Many wealthy Democratic patrons, who in the past have played major roles financing outside groups to help elect the party's candidates, are largely sitting out these crucial midterm elections.  —  Democratic donors like George Soros …

Romney, Palin at Front of GOP Presidential Field  —  Preferences for leaders similar among conservative, moderate/liberal Republicans  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin lead other potential candidates in Republicans' preferences for the party's 2012 presidential nomination.

Sen. Murkowski targets Tea Party Express in new ad  —  Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on Wednesday released two new TV ads her campaign says will counter the Tea Party Express.  —  Earlier this week, the group unveiled its own TV ad targeting Murkowski, which spokesman Levi Russell said he hopes …

Angry Voters Push Rubio To Top In Florida Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Say Republican Most Shares Their Values  —  Republican Marco Rubio holds a solid 46 - 33 percent likely voter lead over Gov. Charlie Crist, running as an independent in the race for Florida's U.S. Senate seat …

Locked and Loaded: The Secret World of Extreme Militias  —  Camouflaged and silent, the assault team inched toward a walled stone compound for more than five hours, belly-crawling the last 200 yards.  The target was an old state prison in eastern Ohio, and every handpicked member of Red Team 2 knew …

'Obama's Wars': The gang that couldn't shoot straight — or shut up  —  Senior Washington officials, in this administration or its predecessors, talk to Bob Woodward for all kinds of reasons — to fluff up their vanity, to avenge slights, to neutralize rivals, to gratify egos or, most laughably, to shape the historical record.

In a Computer Worm, a Possible Biblical Clue  —  Deep inside the computer worm that some specialists suspect is aimed at slowing Iran's race for a nuclear weapon lies what could be a fleeting reference to the Book of Esther, the Old Testament tale in which the Jews pre-empt a Persian plot to destroy them.

Tony Curtis, Hollywood Leading Man, Dies at 85  —  Tony Curtis, a classically handsome movie star who earned an Oscar nomination as an escaped convict in Stanley Kramer's 1958 movie “The Defiant Ones,” but whose public preferred him in comic roles in films like “Some Like It Hot” (1959) and …

The Times Wages Class War  —  The New York Times story about the plight of families in the top 2% of the income distribution who don't “feel” rich seems to be based entirely on a misunderstanding about how the tax code works: … The article delves into the question of just who counts as rich.

Boehner backs Issa on subpoena promises  —  House Minority Leader John Boehner threw his full support behind Rep. Darrell Issa's (R-Calif.) plan to bombard the Obama administration with subpoenas if Republicans take back the House in November.  —  “I think Congress has an appropriate role under …

Waxman Statement on Net Neutrality Proposal  —  Chairman Henry A. Waxman released the following statement on net neutrality legislation:  —  Over the past several weeks, Subcommittee Chairman Boucher and I have sought to reach bipartisan agreement on legislation that would protect and promote an open Internet.

Hugo Lindgren Named New York Times Magazine Editor  —  In a stunning move, The New York Times is expected to announce that Hugo Lindgren will be the next editor of The New York Times Magazine, according to three people familiar with the deal.  —  Mr. Lindgren spent the last seven months …

Congress cools on Colbert  —  Members of Congress have been fooled time after time after time by Stephen Colbert, and after last week's mockery, they have a message for the satirist who makes a living lampooning them: Colbert, you're dead to us.  —  Colbert's act had steadily been losing cachet …

Republicans have requested more absentee ballots than Democrats in Ohio's three largest counties  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio — A higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats in Ohio's three largest counties have asked for absentee ballots this year — an ominous sign for the party hoping to repel GOP forces on Election Day.

More Foreclosure Mess Updates: 20% of Florida Cases Have Problems, Including Phony Court Summons; JP Morgan 'Fesses Up to GMAC Type Problems  —  More shoes are dropping on the foreclosure improprieties front.  Let's not forget the throughline: the parties in the securitization pipeline …

Grading the Governors  —  A new Cato Institute report on the fiscal best and worst.  —  It's been a rough couple of years to be a Governor, but some have adjusted to austere times better than others.  The Cato Institute today releases its 10th biennial survey of the best and worst Governors …

Senate Outsourcing Bill Stalls  —  WASHINGTON—The Senate failed to advance legislation pushed by Democrats Tuesday to deter U.S. corporations from moving jobs overseas, an effort Republicans derided as political theater.  —  The vote on bringing the bill to the floor for a full debate was 53 to 45 …

Brady leads but Quinn closing  —  Bill Brady continues to lead the Illinois Governor's race but Pat Quinn's pulling a little closer, trailing 42-35 in PPP's newest survey of the race.  Independent Scott Lee Cohen gets 6%, Green Party candidate Rich Whitney is at 4%, and Libertarian Lex Green is at 2%.