Andrew Breitbart Unleashes A Torrent Of Invective Against Sen. Ted Kennedy's Legacy On Twitter  —  Early this morning, news broke that Sen. Ted Kennedy had passed away after serving in the U.S. Senate for nearly 50 years.  Soon after, conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart began …

Dominick Dunne: 1925-2009  —  Dominick Dunne, a best-selling author and special correspondent for Vanity Fair, died today at his home in Manhattan.  He was 83.  —  The cause of death was bladder cancer, said his son Griffin Dunne.  —  Dunne—who joined Vanity Fair in 1984 as a contributing editor …

Palin comes out in support of Fox's Beck over boycott  —  WASHINGTON — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is jumping into the fray over Fox News talk show host Glenn Beck, whose assertion last month that President Barack Obama is “a racist” led to a boycott of the companies advertising on his show …

Romney for Senate?  Succeeding Kennedy Could Help in 2012  —  By Peter Roff, Thomas Jefferson Street blog  —  Though it may be hard to see at first, the passing of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts may have a profound impact on 2012's race for the GOP presidential nomination.

Enzi gets earful on health care plan  —  GILLETTE - Sen. Mike Enzi attracted some rare criticism from his hometown of Gillette over his participation in bipartisan health care negotiations in the U.S. Senate.  —  About 500 people packed the cavernous Campbell County High School South Campus commons area …

AP: Bill Richardson Cleared in Fed's Probe  —  Source Says New Mexico Governor, Aides, Will Face No Criminal Charges in Alleged Pay-to-Play Deal  —  (AP) New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former high-ranking members of his administration won't be criminally charged in a yearlong federal investigation …

New projection: 2.3 million fewer people working in 2010  —  Yesterday the Congressional Budget Office released their “summer update” publication, in which they update their baseline budget and economic projections for changes in the economy and legislation enacted so far this year.

The Coming Air Force Crisis  —  David Petraeus makes a joke: … As Robert Farley says, this kind of thing is a pretty typical ground forces joke but “the AFA whining reveals a certain insecurity.”  —  It's worth observing that this issue is going to become much more severe in the years to come.

China admits death row organ use  —  China is trying to move away from the use of executed prisoners as the major source of organs for transplants.  —  According to the China Daily newspaper, executed prisoners currently provide two-thirds of all transplant organs.

Reflections on the Wellstone Memorial and the King Funeral  —  I think a little more perspective is needed when addressing the comparison that right-wing bloggers and now some mainstream journalists (Howard Kurtz) have been making between the Wellstone Memorial and the Coretta Scott King Funeral.

City watchdog backs new banks tax  —  Levy on profits would curb excessive bonus culture, says Lord Turner  —  The government's top financial regulator last night backed radical plans for a multibillion-pound tax on banks as a way to tackle the City's persistent bonus culture.

Leak: How Mark Penn Converts His Wall Street Journal Column into P.R. Clients  —  Mark Penn, the strategist who dashed Hillary Clinton's presidential hopes, is the Wall Street Journal's “Microtrend"-spotting columnist.  He's also CEO of PR giant Burson-Marsteller.

Kennedy and Chappaquiddick—in the Obits  —  It's always fascinating to see where obituaries first bring up what might be called the biggest (sometimes single) black mark on a notable person's life.  Just last week we looked at when news outlets first mentioned the Plame case in covering the death of Robert Novak.

AARP Poll: 8 in 10 Back Public Option  —  A new survey commissioned by the AARP asks respondents to what degree they support or oppose “[s]tarting a new federal health insurance plan that individuals could purchase if they can't afford private plans offered to them” — a public option, in other words.

California holds a garage sale — with cars autographed by Schwarzenegger  —  In the latest attempt to raise money, the state is selling thousands of surplus items on EBay, Craigslist and in a warehouse auction.  —  Reporting from Sacramento - Does Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have a deal for you.

Files prove Pentagon is profiling reporters … WASHINGTON — Contrary to the insistence of Pentagon officials this week that they are not rating the work of reporters covering U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Stars and Stripes has obtained documents that prove that reporters' coverage is being graded as “positive,” “neutral” or “negative.”

Tax Court Rejects Taxpayer's Attempt to Use Geithner's TurboTax Defense  —  The Tax Court yesterday rejected a taxpayer's attempt to use the TurboTax defense successfully employed by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.  Hopson v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ.  Op.  2009-130 (Aug. 25, 2009) (citations omitted):

Christie Faces Questions Over '05 Traffic Tickets  —  On a Saturday night in 2005 Chris Christie was issued tickets for speeding and driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.  A tow truck showed up at the scene but Christie was allowed to drive the vehicle with his wife …

Alleged Drug Ties of Top Afghan Official Worry U.S.  —  WASHINGTON — It was a heated debate during the Bush administration: What to do about evidence that Afghanistan's powerful defense minister was involved in drug trafficking?  Officials from the time say they needed him to help run the troubled country.

‘Cruel and neglectful’ care of one million NHS patients exposed  —  One million NHS patients have been the victims of appalling care in hospitals across Britain, according to a major report released today.  —  In the last six years, the Patients Association claims hundreds of thousands …

‘Writing is on the wall,’ ally tells Sanford  —  (CNN) — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford forcefully rejected his lieutenant governor's request that he resign for the good of the state Wednesday.  —  “I am not going to be railroaded out of this office by political opponents or folks …