Obama to Call for $50 Billion Spending on Public Works  —  WASHINGTON - President Obama on Monday is to call for as much as $50 billion in government spending to start up a long-term public works plan emphasizing transportation projects - roads, rail and airport runways - over the next six years.

1938 in 2010  —  Here's the situation: The U.S. economy has been crippled by a financial crisis.  The president's policies have limited the damage, but they were too cautious, and unemployment remains disastrously high.  More action is clearly needed.  Yet the public has soured on government activism …

Petraeus Condemns U.S. Church's Plan to Burn Qurans  —  KABUL—The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said the planned burning of Qurans on Sept. 11 by a Florida church could put the lives of American troops in danger and damage the war effort.  —  Gen. David Petraeus said the Taliban …

CNN Poll: GOP's midterm advantage is growing  —  (CNN) — With November's midterm elections less than two months away, a new national poll indicates that the Republicans' advantage over the Democrats in the battle for Congress is on the rise.  —  According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation …

Jindal Staying Out Of Upcoming Senate Race  —  Governor: ‘Voters Can Make Up Their Own Minds’  —  BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. Bobby Jindal said he's staying out of the upcoming Senate race between Republican incumbent David Vitter and his Democratic challenger, Rep. Charlie Melancon.

Finding new weapons to kill bedbugs  —  The brown bugs, each about half the size of a pencil eraser, lie in glass petri dishes - a few on their backs, legs in the air.  They died within seconds of scurrying across a piece of paper containing drops of a chemical.The next step is to find …

Cynthia Tucker: Voter Anger Is About Racism - ‘Fear of a White Minority’  —  Are you sick and tired of being called a racist because you don't agree with Barack Obama's policies?  —  If you are, you shouldn't read any further, for Cynthia Tucker this weekend claimed the voter anger …

Despite formal combat end, US joins Baghdad battle  —  BAGHDAD (AP) - Days after the U.S. officially ended combat operations and touted Iraq's ability to defend itself, American troops found themselves battling heavily armed militants assaulting an Iraqi military headquarters in the center of Baghdad on Sunday.

Los Angeles school named after Al Gore  —  He's the first vice president to have an L.A. school named after him, sharing the honor with author Rachel Carson.  Fittingly, the campus will be devoted to environmental themes.  But there's a catch.  —  First-grade teacher Yolanda Alcala, left …

Housing Woes Bring New Cry: Let Market Fall  —  The unexpectedly deep plunge in home sales this summer is likely to force the Obama administration to choose between future homeowners and current ones, a predicament officials had been eager to avoid.  —  Over the last 18 months …

For G.O.P., Tea Party Wields a Double-Edged Sword  —  Christine O'Donnell, running in Delaware to be the Republican nominee for the Senate seat once held by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., is a perennial candidate with a history of financial problems, including unpaid taxes and a home in foreclosure.

Major Democratic donors shift donations to the right  —  If the temperature in Washington is determined by the smell of money, then this summer is very hot indeed.  —  The rich are not happy.  —  Major political action committees and employees of the nation's largest business empires …

Lieberman: This generation will not see Middle East peace  —  Palestinian Authority is incapable of peace - but will not return to violence, says FM, calling for interim deal as substitute for final status agreement.  —  A peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians will not be achieved …

FRAT HOUSE FOR JESUS  —  The entity behind C Street.  —  One midwinter night in 2008, Senator John Ensign, of Nevada, the chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, was roused from bed when six men entered his room and ordered him to get up.  Ensign knew the men intimately …

Some See a Ploy as Craigslist Blocks Sex Ads  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Craigslist, by shutting off its “adult services” section and slapping a “censored” label in its place, is engaging in what some analysts describe as a high-stakes stunt to influence public opinion.