NPR Ends Analyst's Contract After Comments on Muslims  —  NPR has terminated its contract with Juan Williams, one of its senior news analysts, after he made comments about Muslims on the Fox News Channel.  —  NPR said in a statement that it gave Mr. Williams notice of his termination on Wednesday night.

Sestak Closes Gap In Pennsylvania Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; But Voters Want Their Senator To Oppose Obama  —  The race for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat is now a statistical dead heat with Republican Pat Toomey getting 48 percent of likely voters to 46 percent …

BREAKING: Ninth Circuit Stays DADT Injunction  —  A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued a temporary stay of U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips's Oct. 12 order in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States halting all enforcement of the military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy.

Shouts & Murmurs: Three Things to Do When Clarence Thomas's Wife Calls You  —  Like many Americans, over the past several years I have been the recipient of multiple unwelcome voicemails from the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.  These calls have come in the middle of the night …

Climate Change Doubt Is Tea Party Article of Faith  —  JASPER, Ind. — At a candidate forum here last week, Representative Baron P. Hill, a threatened Democratic incumbent in a largely conservative southern Indiana district, was endeavoring to explain his unpopular vote for the House cap-and-trade energy bill.

Obama's Approval Rating at New Low in Most Recent Quarter  —  His favorable rating and re-elect figures are also at new lows  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama averaged 44.7% job approval during the seventh quarter of his presidency.  His average approval rating has declined each quarter since …

Majority of independent voters say Dem leadership is more left wing than they are  —  In another potentially troubling sign for Democratic candidates, three in five independent voters in key House districts say Congress's Democratic leadership is to the left of them on the political spectrum.

George Soros' “foreign” money  —  George Soros announced today that he was making his first-ever contribution to Media Matters, in the amount of $1 million.  Rush Limbaugh denounced this as “foreign money in American politics” and called Soros “a foreigner.”

John Roberts's America  —  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — I wish Chief Justice John Roberts could spend a day and a night in the Rocky Mountains experiencing what his activist Supreme Court majority has dumped on the American voter in 2010.  —  The sludge flow from out-of-state, secretive political groups is unrelenting.

Majority says no ‘change’ under Obama, or change for the worse  —  A majority of voters in key battleground races say President Obama has either brought no change to Washington or has brought change for the worse.  —  In 10 competitive House districts, 41 percent of likely voters say Obama …

Coalition Routs Taliban in Southern Afghanistan  —  ARGHANDAB, Afghanistan — American and Afghan forces have been routing the Taliban in much of the insurgency's base of Kandahar Province in recent weeks, forcing many hardened fighters to flee strongholds they have held for years in the face …

Citing Rep. Grayson's ‘gutter theatrics,’ GOP challenger refuses to debate  —  After Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) attacked his Republican challenger Dan Webster as “Taliban Dan” in a recent campaign ad, Webster is refusing to share the stage with him for a debate.

Cindy Sheehan Goes Republican  —  After a fashion, anyway: She encourages Nancy Pelosi to debate her Republican opponent, John Dennis, and suggests that voters should take a look at him. … I talked to Dennis, who is happy with the quasi-endorsement — he, too, mentioned that he was backed by Gonzalez …

Bush defends bailout of financial firms  —  Former President George W. Bush said a decision to use taxpayer money to bolster the financial system in 2008 wasn't difficult and was needed to avoid an economic collapse.  —  “Depression, no depression,” Bush told about 2,000 people during …

I hardly think my response is “black and white”  —  I mean, it's fairly reasonable to expect us to practice what we preach.  How is that an unreasonable demand?  And your differentiation between Russian and US policies is simplistic at best.  Torture in its various forms was systematic …

Poll: Most Back Gays Serving Openly in Military  —  CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.  —  With repeal of the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy being hashed out in both Congress and the courts …

White House Dispatch: ‘Baby on Board’ in the Beast  —  Portland, Oregon (CNN) - The presidential limousine, known colloquially as ‘The Beast,’ carried what was probably one of its youngest passengers ever on Wednesday evening.  —  President Obama, who flew to Oregon as part …

Obama Team On Furor Over Foreclosures: ‘Problem For The Banks and Servicers To Fix’  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said Wednesday that the Obama administration will attempt to protect homeowners and police the kind of paperwork fraud …

Niche Lawyers Spawned Housing Fracas  —  The paperwork mess muddying home foreclosures erupted last month.  But the legal strategy behind it traces to a lawyer's gambit in 2006 that has helped keep one couple in their home six years beyond their last mortgage payment.

Immigration stymies tech sector  —  Technology companies have long placed immigration reform at the top of their Washington wish list; the biggest firms rely on engineering talent that often comes from outside U.S. borders, and they want Capitol Hill to make it easier for them to hire the workers they need.