Gay CNN Anchor Sees Risk in Book  —  Don Lemon, the weekend prime-time anchor for CNN, was on the air on Sunday night this month when the news broke that President Obama would address the nation at the unusual hour of 10:30 p.m.  —  By the time the news network was confirming the reports …

Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces further claim of sexual assault  —  Socialist party official says her daughter was left traumatised after alleged attack by Strauss-Kahn in 2002  —  By this time next year, Dominique Strauss-Kahn might well have been president of France.

As Debt Limit Reached, Agreement Still Far Off  —  The U.S. government is expected to hit the $14.294 trillion debt ceiling Monday, setting in motion an uncertain, 11-week political scramble to avoid a default.  —  The Treasury Department plans to announce Monday it will stop issuing …

Gingrich Blasts House GOP's Medicare Plan  —  Presidential Candidate Calls It ‘Right-Wing Social Engineering,’ Agrees With Obama About Need for Insurance Mandate  —  White House hopeful Newt Gingrich called the House Republican plan for Medicare “right-wing social engineering,” …

Israeli Troops Fire as Marchers Breach Borders  —  JERUSALEM — Israel's borders erupted in deadly clashes on Sunday as thousands of Palestinians — marching from Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank — confronted Israeli troops to mark the anniversary of Israel's creation.

How Drudge Has Stayed on Top  —  For most big news Web sites, about 60 percent of the traffic is homegrown, people who come directly to the site by dint of a bookmark or typing in www.latimes.com or www.huffingtonpost.com.  The other critical 40 percent comes by referrals …

Iowa gov says on your marks ...  Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad will call on the Republican presidential candidates to pick up the pace of their campaigns in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, using his weekly news conference on Monday to fire a starter's pistol on the 2012 race.

A Verdict on Obama's “Stimulus” Plan  —  Economists Timothy Conley and Bill Dupor have studied the effects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the purported stimulus bill) with great rigor.  Earlier this week, they reported their findings in a paper titled “The American Recovery …

President Obama polls well despite jobs fears  —  Despite widespread disapproval of Barack Obama's handling of the economy, more than half of Americans approve of the president and are open to reelecting him.  —  The economy and government spending stand as the dominant issues on the minds …

Herman Cain sounds off on race, a debate win, and the need to simplify government  —  Chief Political Correspondent Follow Him @ByronYork  —  STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. - Herman Cain's handsome glass-walled office overlooks the first fairway of the Eagle's Landing Country Club in this exurb of Atlanta …

Nursing Homes Seek Exemptions From Health Law  —  WASHINGTON — It is an oddity of American health care: Many nursing homes and home care agencies do not provide health insurance to their workers, or they pay wages so low that employees cannot afford the coverage that is offered.  —  The numbers are stark.

Romney's Path  —  With the field clarifying, Mitt Romney's interests now align well with those of one other possible candidate: Michele Bachmann.  Both of them have an interest in seeing her do as well as possible.  —  Like Bob Dole in 1996 or John McCain in 2008, Romney …

The budget debate we all deserve  —  Despite Washington coming to grips with the fact that the debt threat is real, policymakers still are not having the debate Americans deserve.  —  The talk is too often restricted to “shared sacrifice.”  This sets up a debate where we are really just arguing …