Fact Check: Is Foreign Money Behind U.S. Chamber of Commerce Ads?  —  President Obama, Democrats Say There's Foreign Influence in Election, Scant Evidence to Prove Claims  —  To many Democrats, the accusation by President Obama and other party leaders that foreign money might be bank rolling …

Gallup poll shows GOP isn't losing steam with likely voters  —  Republicans maintained their edge over Democrats in the generic ballot as Nov. 2's elections drew nearer.  —  The GOP kept its healthy lead over Democrats in both high and low turnout scenarios in Gallup's weekly test of likely voters' preference between the two parties.

Wall Street Pay: A Record $144 Billion  —  Financial Overhaul Has Affected Structure but Not Level; Revenue-to-Compensation Ratio Stays Flat  —  Pay on Wall Street is on pace to break a record high for a second consecutive year, according to a study conducted by The Wall Street Journal.

Banksy creates new Simpsons title sequence  —  The Simpsons, Thursday 21 October, 1930BST, Sky 1 HD and Sky 1  —  UK graffiti artist Banksy has created a controversial title sequence for long-running US animation The Simpsons.  —  The intro, which was shown in the US on Sunday …

A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH.... Alabama Senator Richard Shelby (R) has refused to allow a vote on Peter Diamond's nomination to the board of governors of the Federal Reserve.  As far as the conservative lawmaker is concerned, MIT's Diamond, among the most accomplished economists of his generation, lacks the necessary qualifications.

Offering Donors Secrecy, and Going on Attack  —  The American Future Fund has spent millions on campaign advertising, taking on Democratic candidates like Rep. Bruce Braley.  —  Multimedia  —  Graphic  —  Behind Attack Ads, Hints of a Pattern  —  The latest on President Obama …

North Carolina Muslim Admits Working with al Qaeda: “Proud to be an American Traitor” [Full text]  —  I think we can quit with the speculation about where he went and why  —  Update by Rusty: The full text of Khan's story can be found at the end of this post.  —  I'm reading the magazine now and will continue to update.

Wall St. cash flow imperils Democrats  —  A shift in the flow of Wall Street money toward Republicans earlier this year has become a torrent in the final weeks of the campaign, according to lobbyists and business executives doling out the cash.  —  “Our target ratio for the 2010 cycle is 80-20 Republican …

Unrepentant, Paladino Calls Gay Parades ‘Disgusting’  —  Despite an uproar over his remarks about gays, Carl P. Paladino appeared on national television on Monday and expressed revulsion at gay pride parades.  —  Mr. Paladino restated his criticism of Andrew M. Cuomo, his Democratic opponent …

Soros: I Can't Stop a Republican ‘Avalanche’  —  George Soros, the billionaire financier who was an energetic Democratic donor in the last several election cycles but is sitting this one out, is not feeling optimistic about Democratic prospects.  —  “I made an exception getting involved in 2004 …

More Great Candidates to Support This Year  —  I've just finished up another great week of travel across our country.  From Florida to California, the feeling is unmistakable.  A commonsense grassroots movement is determined to get our country back to its founding principles and constitutional roots.

Woman Says She Worked for Sandoval Illegally  —  Ana Padilla used to be go by her middle name, Maritza.  She told us that was when she first came to the United States illegally.  —  “I come from Guatemala City in 1986,” said Padilla.  —  She told us after working in the States for about ten years …

The Stanford Daily's Two Minute Hate  —  Victor Davis Hanson recently noted some of the ironies and absurdities of the regime of affirmative action enforced in American institutions of higher learning.  The rationale of the affirmative action regime is of course “diversity.”  Regarding this rationale, Hanson wrote:

For Democrats, Even ‘Safe’ Seats Are Shaky  —  ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio — Republicans are expanding the battle for the House into districts that Democrats had once considered relatively safe, while Democrats began a strategy of triage on Monday to fortify candidates who they believe stand the best chance of survival.

Miller vows silence on background until election  —  Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller said this afternoon that he will not be answering any more questions about his personal background for the remainder of the campaign.  —  “We've drawn a line in the sand.

U.S. Alarmed by Harsh Tone of China's Military  —  BEIJING — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met his Chinese counterpart, Liang Guanglie, in Vietnam on Monday for the first time since the two militaries suspended talks with each other last winter, calling for the two countries to prevent “mistrust, miscalculations and mistakes.”

GetEqual Protests Obama  —  See more photos of the protest below.  —  A group of LGBT equality activists working to end “don't ask, don't tell” launched an elaborate protest early Monday evening as President Barack Obama attended a private Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fund-raiser …

Former VP Dick Cheney appears gaunt at California event months after heart procedure  —  WASHINGTON - Former Vice President Dick Cheney appeared gaunt and frail as he defended Bush administration terror policies before a sellout California crowd over the weekend.

Board of Elections gaffe may nullify New York soldiers' overseas absentee ballots  —  The Board of Elections is facing another “royal screwup” - this time for failing to ship absentee ballots to New York troops serving overseas.  —  “Our troops sacrifice their lives to protect our freedoms.

Where He's Building Ace a Robot: Inside Sean Bielat's Campaign Headquarters  —  BOSTON — As everyone knows, this unprecedented effort to defeat Barney Frank really caught fire Sept. 22 when Ace of Spades coined the Official Campaign Slogan:  —  Sean Bielat For Congress

Trending: ‘Exuberant’ author aims for President, meets Secret Service  —  (CNN) - The Secret Service is now shedding some more light on the circumstances surrounding a man who threw a book at President Obama at an event in Pennsylvania Sunday.  And they're not throwing the book at him.

Scarborough retracts false claim about lefty groups' disclosure.  Will Rove and other righties do same?  —  I suppose this is par for the course.  But perhaps it should be part of the discussion that right wing commentators who claim lefty groups and unions are running ads funded by anonymous donors …

Dems: Donate now and win a trip to meet Obama!  —  Organizing for America, the permanent incarnation of the Obama presidential campaign, has a new offer to its members: send money now and be automatically registered for a chance to win a trip to meet Barack Obama.