Gingrich takes the lead  —  Newt Gingrich has taken the lead in PPP's national polling.  He's at 28% to 25% for Herman Cain and 18% for Mitt Romney.  The rest of the Republican field is increasingly looking like a bunch of also rans: Rick Perry is at 6%, Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul at 5% …

Cain stumbles on Libya question  —  Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, in the midst of a Midwestern campaign swing, stumbled Monday when answering a question about whether he agreed or disagreed with President Barack Obama's approach to handling the Libyan crisis.

Court sets 5 1/2-hour hearing on health care (FINAL)  —  FINAL UPDATE at 11:09 a.m. A separate post, coming shortly, will provide further analysis of the grants.  (It is posted above this.)  —  Setting the stage for a historic constitutional confrontation over federal power …

Jerry Sandusky to Bob Costas in exclusive ‘Rock Center’ interview: “I shouldn't have showered with those kids.”  —  By Jessica Hopper  —  DEVELOPING: Former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky admitted to showering and horsing around with young boys but said he is not a pedophile in an exclusive interview …

Ex-cop boots OWS heckler from congressman's swearing-in  —  Meet New York's newest hero.  —  Kevin Hiltunen, a former NYPD officer, yesterday grabbed an Occupy Wall Street demonstrator by the collar and dragged him out of a Queens school where he'd been heckling US Rep. Bob Turner at the congressman's swearing-in ceremony.

Chelsea Clinton to Report for NBC  —  NBC is to announce on Monday morning that it has hired Chelsea Clinton to become a full-time special correspondent for NBC News.  —  The appointment is immediate.  Ms. Clinton will show up at the news division offices oon Monday morning, said Steve Capus …

Future Recession Risks: An Update … Gathering storms across the Atlantic threaten a U.S. economy not yet recovered from the last recession.  The September Economic Outlook from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicates that growth prospects have significantly dimmed …

Ex-boyfriend of Cain accuser backs her story  —  Dr. Victor Zuckerman said today he backs ex-girlfriend Sharon Bialek's allegation that Herman Cain “touched her in an inappropriate manner.”  —  Zuckerman, a pediatrician, came forward after Cain last week denied knowing Bialek.

Quan's top legal adviser resigns over raid  —  (11-14) 08:51 PST OAKLAND — Mayor Jean Quan's chief legal adviser resigned early this morning after what he called a “tragically unnecessary” police raid of the Occupy Oakland camp.  —  Dan Siegel, a civil rights attorney and one of Oakland's …

Why Is China Building These Gigantic Structures In the Middle of the Desert?  (Updated)  —  This is crazy.  New photos have appeared in Google Maps showing unidentified titanic structures in the middle of the Chinese desert.  The first one is an intricate network of what appears to be huge metallic stripes.

NBA players reject owners' offer  —  NEW YORK — The NBA players rejected the league's latest offer Monday and have begun the process to disband the union.  —  The decision likely jeopardizes the 2011-12 NBA season.  —  “We're prepared to file this antitrust action against the NBA,” union executive director Billy Hunter said.

A candidate can only fake it for so long  —  There was a BBC reality show I used to find interesting called, “Faking It.”  The show would have someone take a crash course in a professional field that is not their own, help them try to master it, and then try to fool a panel of experts.

CNN Reporter Asks Obama: Are GOP Candidates “Uninformed, Out Of Touch, Or Irresponsible?”  —  “Last night at the Republican debate, some of the hopefuls, they hope to get your job, they defended the practice of waterboarding which is a practice you banned in 2009.

Obama defends hot mic moment  —  On Sunday afternoon in Hawaii, Obama commented on his “hot mic” exchange with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the G20 summit, saying the exchange—in which the President complained about having to “deal” with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu “every day” …

Listen Up, Boomers: The Backlash Has Begun  —  “Talkin' about my generation”: the Who song once expressed the hope and self confidence of the Baby Boomers as they reached biological if not emotional maturity.  It was an attack on the older generation, a defense of the young …

My Night At The Marine Corps Ball  —  To all my family, friends and fans -  —  I'm writing this out to all of you after attending an event that turned out to be one of the most moving evenings I've ever had...  I had the honor and privilege last night of attending The Basic School Instructor …

Deficit Panel Seeks to Defer Details on Raising Taxes  —  WASHINGTON — With a little over a week left to reach a deal, members of the Congressional deficit reduction panel are looking for an escape hatch that would let them strike an accord on revenue levels but delay until next year tough decisions about exactly how to raise taxes.

Occupy Protesters Interrupt Chamber Of Commerce Health Care Event  —  Protesters disrupted a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on health care today, interrupting speaker Scott Serota, the CEO of Blue Cross & Blue Shield.  Chanting “we are the 99 percent,” the protesters stood at the luncheon event and used a …