Call a Waaahmbulance: NAACP exhaustively details how the Tea Party's connections empower racism  —  Cue the right-wing wailing and gnashing of teeth: The NAACP has now fully backed up its accusations of racism within the Tea Party movement with a meticulously documented report …

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.

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.

Every big Senate race just got closer  —  A new wave of polling shows virtually every close Senate race growing even more competitive, raising the pressure on both parties in the final days of the midterm campaign.  —  In several states, Democratic candidates are on the upswing.

Soros Donates $1 Million to Media Matters  —  Media Matters, the liberal activist group that wages a rhetorical war against Fox News Channel and others in the conservative press, will announce on Wednesday the receipt of a $1 million donation from the philanthropist George Soros.

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.

CNN/Time Poll: All tied up in Alaska Senate race  —  (CNN) - A new poll indicates a dead-even race in the Alaska battle between Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller and GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who's running for re-election as a write-in candidate.  But a CNN/Time/Opinion Research Corporation …

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.

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 …

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 …

MEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election  —  In 2006, Koch Industries owner Charles Koch revealed to the Wall Street Journal's Stephen Moore that he coordinates the funding of the conservative infrastructure of front groups …

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 …

Virginia 4th-grade textbook criticized over claims on black Confederate soldiers  —  A textbook distributed to Virginia fourth-graders says that thousands of African Americans fought for the South during the Civil War — a claim rejected by most historians but often made by groups seeking …

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 …

Spitzer's Harvard Club Application?  Rejected  —  In his emergence from political disgrace, Eliot Spitzer has played multiple roles: political commentator, financial columnist, college professor, and, most recently, CNN host.  —  One role he will not be playing: a member of the Harvard Club of New York City.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Al Qaeda Leader Dined at the Pentagon Just Months After 9/11  —  Oct. 2008: American-born Al Qaeda-linked cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen.  —  Anwar Al-Awlaki may be the first American on the CIA's kill or capture list, but he was also a lunch guest of military brass …

Glenn Beck: Evolution Is 'Ridiculous — I Haven't Seen A Half-Monkey, Half-Person Yet'  —  Have you ever seen a half-monkey, half-person?  No?  Well neither has Glenn Beck, which is how he knows evolution doesn't exist.  —  On his radio show today, Beck wondered how many people …

Audit: NJ Turnpike Wasted Millions On Perks  —  MYFOXNY.COM - Auditors say the New Jersey Turnpike Authority wasted $43 million on unneeded perks and bonuses.  In one case, an employee with a base salary of $73,469 earned $321,985 when all payouts and bonuses were included.

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 …

Rival Gives Frank Some Unflattering New Steps  —  REVERE, Mass. — Representative Barney Frank was dancing around the issues — first doing a version of the Running Man, then the Sprinkler, then a disco boogie.  —  The latest on President Obama, his administration and other news from Washington and around the nation.