The Public Option: Rumor Check  —  A rumor is making the rounds that the White House and Senator Reid are pursuing different strategies on the public option.  Those rumors are absolutely false.  —  In his September 9th address to Congress, President Obama made clear that he supports …

Newt Gingrich Says He May Run for President in 2012  —  Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker and perennial big thinker in the Republican party, said this morning that he will likely run for president in 2012 if he and his wife, Callista, assess the field of candidates in 2011 and feel “a requirement as citizens that we run.”

Afghan protest over ‘burnt Koran’  —  There have been protests in the Afghan capital, Kabul, over allegations that foreign troops in the country burnt a copy of the Koran.  —  Hundreds of Kabul University students led the latest protest, burning an effigy of US President Barack Obama.

Online auction to raise funds in Scott Roeder case  —  An Army of God manual.  A prison cookbook compiled by a woman doing time for abortion clinic bombings and arsons.  An autographed bullhorn.  —  These are among the items that abortion foes plan to auction on eBay and other Web sites …

U.S. Considers Reining In ‘Too Big to Fail’ Institutions  —  WASHINGTON — Congress and the Obama administration are about to take up one of the most fundamental issues stemming from the near collapse of the financial system last year — how to deal with institutions that are so big …

U.S. tested 2 Afghan scenarios in war game  —  Obama and advisers evaluating exercise that used different troop levels  —  The Pentagon's top military officer oversaw a secret war game this month to evaluate the two primary military options that have been put forward by the Pentagon …

Obama's pointless bipartisanship.  —  From the magazine issue dated Nov 2, 2009  —  “There she is, the Party of One!” cried Sen. Barbara Mikulski when she saw Sen. Olympia Snowe outside the Senate chamber last week.  Mikulski, in a wheel-chair because of a broken ankle, rolled closer to the object of her praise.

Women pay up to 50% more for health insurance premiums  —  Checking the “female” box when buying health insurance is likely to cost extra — perhaps up to 50 percent more than a man would pay for the same coverage.  —  Gender-rating — or what some term as flat-out sexual discrimination …

Dems push for benefits to start by 2010  —  Democrats are pushing Senate leaders and the White House to speed up key benefits in the health reform bill to 2010, eager to give the party something to show taxpayers for their $900 billion investment in an election year.

After Reform Passes  —  So, how well will health reform work after it passes?  —  There's a part of me that can't believe I'm asking that question.  After all, serious health reform has long seemed like an impossible dream.  And it could yet go all wrong.

Energy Department Aid for Scientists on the Edge  —  WASHINGTON — The federal Energy Department will make good on a pledge for a bolder technology strategy on Monday, awarding research grants for ideas like bacteria that will make gasoline, enzymes that will capture carbon dioxide …

Va. GOP makes timely adjustment to changes in state  —  McDonnell looks to end string of Democratic victories  —  In the 12 years since James S. Gilmore III last claimed the governor's mansion for Republicans, Virginia has undergone dramatic demographic changes, becoming more populous, diverse, wealthy and educated.

Corzine comes back, but far enough?  —  Recession adds to New Jersey governor's woes in a race drawing national interest  —  ELIZABETH, N.J. — A year into his first term, which he won touting the financial expertise that had made him a multimillionaire, Gov. Jon S. Corzine (D) …

Prosecutors Turn Tables on Student Journalists  —  EVANSTON, Ill. — For more than a decade, classes of students at Northwestern University's journalism school have been scrutinizing the work of prosecutors and the police.  The investigations into old crimes, as part of the Medill Innocence Project …

Police log ‘domestic extremists’  —  Thousands of activists monitored on network of overlapping databases  —  Police are gathering the personal details of thousands of activists who attend political meetings and protests, and storing their data on a network of nationwide intelligence databases.

New Nukes!  —  Since taking office, President Obama has consistently asserted that one of his foremost priorities is to transform America's energy landscape and move us away from high levels of carbon emissions and imported energy toward clean energy and less foreign dependence.