Obama's Speech to the United Nations General Assembly  —  Following is a text of President Obama's speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, as released by the White House.  —  Good morning.  Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen …

ACORN files suit against filmmakers  —  ACORN filed suit today in Maryland against conservative filmmakers James O'Keefe, Hannah Giles and conservative Web site Breitbart.com for secretly taping the organization's employees at its Baltimore office.  —  In the complaint, ACORN alleges …

Carper Publicly Defends Secret PhRMA Pact; Deal Made in Exchange for Support Ads  —  In a stunning moment during the Senate Finance Committee markup Sen. Tom Carper defended a secret deal that the White House, Baucus, and PhRMA had reached.  The White House has long denied the deal.

AP source: Census worker hanged with ‘fed’ on body  —  The FBI is investigating whether anti-government sentiment led to the hanging death of a U.S. Census worker near a Kentucky cemetery.  A law enforcement official told The Associated Press the word 'fed" was scrawled on the dead man's chest.

Dems Ramp Up Push For Colleagues To Block Filibuster On Health Care  —  Buoyed by news of a temporary replacement for the late Senator Ted Kennedy, Senate Democratic leaders are launching a renewed effort to get all 60 members of their caucus — even those who might eventually vote …

King: Same-Sex Marriage Is ‘A Purely Socialist Concept’  —  In April, when the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously struck down a state law defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) called it an “unconstitutional” decision and predicted that it could lead to Iowa becoming “the gay marriage Mecca.”

Excerpts of Sarah Palin's Speech to Investors in Hong Kong  —  Alex Frangos and Tatiana Lau report from Hong Kong on Sarah Palin's speech.  —  Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, delivered her first major international speech outside North America Wednesday …

Al Franken Reads the 4th Amendment to Justice Department Official  —  Just in case he wasn't familiar with it, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) decided to read the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution to David Kris, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's National Security Division …

I went to Afghanistan and all I got was H1N1  —  It started as a cough.  It wasn't the kind of cough where something is temporarily stuck in your throat.  It wasn't the kind of cough where simply clearing your throat would've been adequate.  This was the kind of cough that hurts when you do it.

Wife: Gov ‘stunned’ O wants him out  —  Gov. Paterson's wife — emotionally stunned at President Obama's request that her husband not run for another term — ripped into him today, saying that it's “very unfair” the president asked New York's “first African-American governor” not to seek office.

DeMint: Obama ‘Puts Our Troops At Risk’ By Working On Health Reform  —  The Washington Post reported this week that Gen. Stanley McChyrstal, the top commander in Afghanistan, has recommended that more U.S. troops be sent there or the conflict will “likely result in failure.”

Frank turns against ACORN  —  In a stunning turnaround, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is distancing himself from ACORN, blasting their response to a string of recent scandals — and contradicting a staffer who said the congressman would have voted against a GOP-sponsored bill banning the group from federal funding.

Hard-Hitting White House Talking Points Blast GOP For Lying About Medicare  —  In a sign that the White House is taking the gloves off for a newly aggressive phase in the health care wars, a hard-hitting new set of White House talking points urges Congressional Dems and outside allies to blast …

GOP Favors Public Option for Property, Not People  —  Atop the front page of the New York Times today is a color photo of Georgia homes flooded up to their rafters, an image that illustrates how when it comes to insurance our Congress applies two standards, separate and unequal, one for property and a lesser one for people.

Dancing Tom DeLay on Infighting in the ‘Leaderless’ GOP: ‘Even Rush and Hannity Are Doing It’  —  LOS ANGELES — Walking out of a restaurant in Los Angeles last week, the former House Majority Leader was stopped by a stranger.  —  “Aren't you Tom DeLay?” the man asked.  —  “Yes, I am.”