Lindsay Lohan tussles with congressional staffer in Manhattan hotel room over cellphone photos, tells cops he choked her  —  California man Christian LaBella initially arrested and charged with assault and harassment in W Hotel Union Square scuffle, but now both of them are facing charges.

Obama up 4 in Ohio  —  PPP's newest poll of the Presidential race in Ohio finds Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney 49-45, down just slightly from a 50-45 advantage on our last independent poll there three weeks ago.  —  It's a mistake to think based on recent polling in Ohio that the race there is over.

The Media Equation: Challenging the Claims of Media Bias - the Media Equation  —  In the last few days, conservatives have become agitated about Mitt Romney's drop-off in the polls.  So did they think the stumble was because of the ill-fated “47 percent” slip of the lip …

Fast and Furious Scandal: New Details Emerge on How the U.S. Government Armed Mexican Drug Cartels  —  Pools Of Blood On The Streets Of Villas De Salvarcar After A Massacre In Which Operation Fast And Furious Guns Were Allegedly Used (Univision)  —  On January 30, 2010 …

White House Hack Attack  —  Hackers linked to China's government broke into one of the U.S. government's most sensitive computer networks, breaching a system used by the White House Military Office for nuclear commands, according to defense and intelligence officials familiar with the incident.

How The Economy Collapsed (As a Political Issue)  —  Republicans and Democrats no longer have the same facts.  It's the perceptual bias, stupid.  —  Via: people-press.org  —  The big issue of the 2012 election — the American economy — has been settled.

you're either with us or against us  —  Liberals are an interesting species.  —  The time has come again for the liberals to attack those on their left.  Such things are cyclical, like the coming of the cicadas.  This is interesting timing because the liberals I know and read are very …

ROMNEY'S CHALLENGE: HE IS ALREADY THE INCUMBENT  —  Mitt Romney is about as close to defeating President Barack Obama as any Republican could have hoped to be.  The polls—if you believe them—show him slightly or significantly behind, but within striking distance.

Philips pulls presidential debate sponsorship  —  Philips Electronics has dropped its sponsorship of the 2012 presidential debates, citing a desire not to associate itself with “partisan politics,” POLITICO has learned.  —  Philips is the third and by far the largest of the original ten sponsors …

A New Course for the Middle East  —  Restore the three sinews of American influence: our economic strength, our military strength and the strength of our values.  —  Disturbing developments are sweeping across the greater Middle East.  In Syria, tens of thousands of innocent people have been slaughtered.

Democratic National Committee predicts Romney will win first debate vs. Obama  —  It's a further lowering of expectations ahead of the first debate in Denver next week.  Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse tells Fox News he thinks Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will win.

Arnold married same-sex couples while Calif. gov.  —  (CBS News) Arnold Schwarzenegger tells Lesley Stahl he performed two same-sex marriage ceremonies while he was the Republican governor of California.  He also says top Republican political adviser Karl Rove once dismissed his idea to run …

What will be this year's October surprise?  —  October, the month of political surprises, has arrived.  —  From Henry Kissinger's 1972 “peace is at hand” declaration to Mark Foley's 2006 sex scandal to the Wall Street bailout of 2008, U.S. elections have a long and colorful history …

Chavez to Obama: I'd vote for you, and you for me  —  * Socialist Chavez has kind words for U.S. leader  —  * Political ties remain strained despite oil trade  —  With both presidents facing tight re-election fights, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez gave a surprise endorsement to Barack Obama on Sunday …

Obama Leads on Expectations - But the Race Itself Stays Close  —  Registered voters by 2-1 think Barack Obama will win the upcoming presidential debates and go on to prevail in the November election.  But expectations aside, the race remains close, with strengths and vulnerabilities for both candidates in the campaign ahead.

Paul Ryan To Fox News: 'I Don't Have The Time' To Explain How We Will Pay For Our Tax Plan  —  For much of the general election, the Romney campaign has avoided any discussion of specifics, especially when it comes to the tax plan that he and Paul Ryan have put forward.

US AND AFGHAN FORCES CLASH, LEAVING 5 DEAD  —  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A firefight broke out between U.S. forces and their Afghan army allies in eastern Afghanistan Sunday, killing two Americans and three Afghan soldiers and pushing the number of U.S. troops killed in the long-running war 2,000.