Sources: Checketts to drop Limbaugh  —  Rush Limbaugh is expected to be dropped from a group bidding to buy the St. Louis Rams, according to three NFL sources.  —  Dave Checketts, chairman of the NHL's St. Louis Blues and the point man in the Limbaugh group attempting to buy the Rams …

Snowe: Public option could be dealbreaker  —  The public option is likely a deal breaker for Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), the sole Republican who voted for healthcare reform in the Finance Committee yesterday.  —  In a number of interviews this morning, Snowe, whose vote is seen as crucial …

Stanley McChrystal's Long War  —  Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal stepped off the whirring Black Hawk and headed straight into town.  He had come to Garmsir, a dusty outpost along the Helmand River in southern Afghanistan, to size up the war that President Obama has asked him to save.

Geithner Aides Reaped Millions Working for Banks, Hedge Funds  —  Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) — Some of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's closest aides, none of whom faced Senate confirmation, earned millions of dollars a year working for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and other Wall Street firms …

Poll shows Specter staring at ‘near fatal’ 31 percent re-election figure  —  TRIBUNE-REVIEW  —  HARRISBURG — Only 31 percent of Pennsylvania voters believe Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter should be re-elected, and 59 percent believe it's time to give someone else a chance, a state poll released today shows.

Democrats Try to Hit the Insurance Industry Where it Hurts  —  Harry Reid is telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that the real reason health insurance is so expensive is that they're evil monopolists, and we need to repeal their anti-trust exemption:

An Apartment Complex Teeters  —  High-Profile Tishman/BlackRock Property in New York in Danger of Default  —  The giant Stuyvesant Town apartment complex on Manhattan's East Side, shown Tuesday, was developed by MetLife for World War II veterans.  —  One of the biggest …

Palin Plans New Political Group  —  Michael M. Phillips reports on the doings of conservative favorite Sarah Palin.  —  Sarah Palin fans can expect to see a new Palin political organization surface as her memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life,” hits the shelves next month.

What Is Wexler Thinking?  —  By all accounts, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) loves Congress.  “I have a dream job, a job I love,” he said in January, attempting to quash rumors that he'd join an Obama administration he worked hard to elect.  Those rumors resurfaced yesterday when it became known that he's resigning his seat.

House Republicans accuse Muslim group of trying to plant spies  —  Four House Republicans are accusing a Muslim advocacy group of trying to plant spies on Capitol Hill.  —  Republican members of the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus said the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) …

Daily Number: 15% - America's Health Care is ... Fairly Average  —  Only 15% of Americans believe that the U.S. has the best health care in the world.  Read more  —  THE TOP STORY INDEX  —  New Media Index  —  Celebrity Jeopardy: Polanski on Blogs  —  8 Oct 09 The Roman Polanski saga …

Health Insurers Emerge as Obama's Top Foe in Reform Effort  —  Now they have an enemy.  —  For months, President Obama and his administration waged their fight for a health-care overhaul without a clear opponent, even courting the industry executives and interest groups that helped kill reform efforts 15 years ago.

Still on the Job, but at Half the Pay  —  MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — The dark blue captain's hat, with its golden oak-leaf clusters, sits atop a bookcase in Bryan Lawlor's home, out of reach of the children.  The uniform their father wears still displays the four stripes of a commercial airline captain, but the hat stays home.

Poll: 51.8% plan to vote no on question 1  —  in - Central Maine Newspapers - Portland Press Herald  —  According to new poll data, 51.8 percent of people who plan to vote in November say they will vote no or are leaning in that direction on question 1, the people's veto of Maine's same-sex marriage law.

Perils of a Talking Head  —  Anyone who regularly does TV interviews knows that one is always required to do a pre-interview in which a producer feels you out as to what you will say in response to certain hypothetical questions.  It would be simpler if they just came out and said …

Boehner downplays Dow 10,000  —  Dow 10,000 just isn't that big a deal, House Republican leader John Boehner said Wednesday morning.  —  And anyone who places significance on the stock market hitting this symbolic number is “certainly not talking to the American people.”

10/14: President Obama's Approval Rating at 53%...Loses More Ground Among Independents  —  President Barack Obama maintains the support of a majority of registered voters nationwide.  However, he continues to slide in the eyes of Independent voters.  Currently, 53% of voters approve of the job …

Why GOP Leader Opposes Hate Crimes Protections for Gays  —  Last week, House Republican Leader John Boehner objected to House passage of a bill that would expand hate crime laws and make it a federal crime to assault people on the basis of their sexual orientation.

Saudis Seek Payments for Any Drop in Oil Revenues  —  Saudi Arabia is trying to enlist other oil-producing countries to support a provocative idea: if wealthy countries reduce their oil consumption to combat global warming, they should pay compensation to oil producers.

Obama to avoid the rabble on S.F. visit  —  The White House's fear of protests from Code Pink and other left-wingers has put the brakes on President Obama making any public appearances during his visit to San Francisco this week.  —  Obama is scheduled to parachute into Liberalville …

Congressional Budget Chief Says Climate Bill Would Cost Jobs  —  WASHINGTON — The head of the Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday countered Obama administration claims that a landmark climate bill would be a boost to the economy.  —  President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats championing …

Apartment residents told to take down U.S. flags  —  Residents of the Oaks Apartments in Albany have reportedly been told to take down their flags.  Even this one, on the back of a motorcycle, is part of the reported ban.  —  ALBANY, Ore. - At the Oaks Apartments in Albany …

Subprime and the Banks: Guilty as Charged  —  “There has not been a case made that there is an enforcement problem with banks,” Edward Yingling, the head of the American Bankers Association, said last week.  “There is a problem with enforcement on nonbanks.”

FTC Reassures Bloggers - Big Brother Isn't Watching  —  Bloggers of the world, relax - the Federal Trade Commission is not out to get you.  That was the message from Mary Engle, associate director for advertising practices at the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

It's On: CBS News Investigates Letterman Scandal  —  Over the past year, Armen Keteyian, the chief investigative correspondent for CBS News, has reported on cyber-thieves in New Jersey, murder-for-hire plots in Wisconsin and teenage bomb-makers in Atlanta.  But these days, Mr. Keteyian is hard …

The rumours of the dollar's death are much exaggerated  —  It is the season of dollar panic.  These panic-mongers are varied: gold bugs, fiscal hawks and many others agree that the dollar, the dominant currency since the first world war, is on its death bed.  Hyperinflationary collapse is in store.

Now who loves America more?  —  Twenty-five years ago, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick famously lambasted Democrats as “blame America firsters” and a party plagued by “self-criticism and self-denigration” of America.  It was a speech at pace with an emerging political stereotype …