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Al Qaeda releases new 9/11 video showing Zawahri DUBAI | Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:07am BST (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's number two Ayman al-Zawahri has appeared in an apparently new video marking the September 11, 2001 attacks...

When Sen. Arlen Specter (R2D2, Pa.) became a Democrat in April 2009, we argued that "the GOP would have been far better off had it persuaded him to remain in the fold." We faulted conservative stalwart Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina for saying, in effect: Good riddance. We saw Specter's switch in isolation and did not imagine it was the start of a trend. We were wrong. Specter, who leans left but is steadfast in defense of whatever he finds expedient for as long as he finds it expedient, faced a challenge that at the time was unique to...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxwzk4P4A5c Missy’s Update: Wow! Today is a very big day at Stately Bennett Manor…not because it marks the halfway point of the month of September, but because today our story was shared with the listening audiences of K-LOVE and AIR-1 Radio! So for those of you joining us today for the first time: Come on in! Make yourselves comfortable! Do be sure to catch up on some of the previous videos…meet the family! Can I make you a snack? And to the friends who have been following us all month, you know we’re glad to see you again today! You...

SNIPPET: "BOGOTA – Colombian authorities detained an Ecuadorian man who crossed the border with 25 kilos (55 pounds) of explosives officials say were meant for the small ELN rebel group. The smuggler, Antonio Peña Perugachi, was arrested in Tuquerres, a village in the southern border province of Nariño. He was carrying 50 packets of pentolite, a high-power explosive, destined for a unit of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, police said in a communique."

SNIPPET: "BOGOTA – Police seized 100 kilos of pentolite and arrested five people, including four Ecuadorians, who were transporting the high explosive on a highway in southwestern Colombia, a police commander said Tuesday. A 17-year-old girl carrying a baby was among the foreigners arrested, the National Police commander in the southern border province of Putumayo, Col. Orlando Polo, said. Officers also seized 6,000 meters (6,565 yards) of detonating cord, Polo told reporters in Mocoa, the capital of Putumayo. The explosives and detonating cord were in a truck apparently headed for Florencia, the capital of neighboring Caqueta province." SNIPPET: "The pentolite...

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The entrance to Zhongnanhai, the huge and secretive compound in the heart of Beijing where China’s leaders live and work, is heavily guarded, and no Chinese citizen in their right mind would try just to walk in. In the virtual world, however, citizens can do just that. Direct Line to Zhongnanhai, an online message board where internet users can write to their political leaders, carries an image of Xinhua Gate, its large red wooden doors swinging open welcomingly to reveal the characters who “serve the people”. “The site appears to be an effort to persuade people that the leadership is...

It's not often that a court gets to cite "Pants on the Ground" as a precedent. The Minnesota Court of Appeals apparently could not resist referring to the Internet hit rap song when it ruled Tuesday that a police officer did not make a "search" when she pulled up the baggy pants of a man being investigated in a suspected drug deal in St. Paul. As she was hauling up his sagging pants, the officer found a gun. Frank Irving Wiggins, now 24, of Minneapolis was convicted of possession of a firearm by an ineligible person and sentenced to five...

NOTE The following text is a quote: Alert Officer Identifies Wanted Man Workforce Stories When a Behavior Detection Officer (BDO) at Ohio’s Toledo Express Airport was approached by an individual in the public area of the airport, the Officer became suspicious of the individual’s actions and noticed injuries to the man’s hands. The BDO also recognized that the individual matched the description provided by the U.S. Coast Guard of a foreign national who jumped ship in the Port of Toledo. Based on the description, TSA contacted the Lucas County Sheriff, Toledo Port Authority Police, Coast Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation...

The speculation about Daniel Snyder-controlled Red Zebra Broadcasting dropping talk on WTNT (570) was on the money, with the company confirming a flip to an ESPN-powered all-sports format on Monday, September 20. That would bookend Red Zebra’s existing all-sports station, WTEM (980). WTEM already carries the ESPN flag and there may be adjustments there. 570 appears to be carrying more of the ESPN Radio lineup, including Colin Cowherd, Scott Van Pelt, Doug Gottlieb and Brian Kenny. Though the morning show will be locally-familiar Steve Czaban, distributed by Sporting News Radio.

A plane-load of people flew into Britain from Spain without having their documents checked in either country, officials have admitted. Passengers on the Ryanair flight are furious that there was no system in place to check for possible illegal immigrants or terrorists. The plane left Malaga and flew into Bournemouth, where the 180 passengers walked out of the airport without showing their passports. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1311887/Almost-45-Ryanair-passengers-enter-UK-passport-checks-Border-Agency-blunder.html#ixzz0za6m3aKB

Christine O’Donnell’s upset over Cong Mike Castle in the GOP primary dramatically alters Republican prospects for November in Delaware. Castle had broad appeal, including to independents and even Democratic voters, while O’Donnell’s appeal is limited to tea party conservatives. Lacking an impressive resume and unlikely to garner significant national Republican support, O’Donnell clearly looks like an underdog against New Castle County Executive Chris Coons (D), who is suddenly transformed to the favorite in the general election. While tea party activists are jumping for joy at the primary results, it’s Democrats who will have the last laugh in Delaware. We’re moving...

The US should give up its veto over important decisions in the International Monetary Fund in return for Europe accepting a smaller say, Germany has proposed. The suggestion, which experts say will be strongly opposed by the US, addresses a politically highly symbolic dispute about voting power and seats on the fund’s executive board. Shifting power towards emerging market countries is one of the central elements in the Group of 20 nations’ drive to make the fund and other international institutions more representative. Last month the US used a procedural manoeuvre to force the European countries to agree reforms to...

No doubt you’ve heard the stories. There’s a political storm is brewing, and it’s based on anger. They’ve taken over our primaries; they’ve overthrown the establishment; and they’re against civil rights. Yes, I write about nothing other than the Tea Party. The disdain felt for it is easy to spot. Inevitably, when the topic comes up among my friends, there are references to “those people.” It is cursed for the threat its poses to the legislative agenda and it’s refusal to be tamed. Even esteemed Yale professors, who shall go unnamed, have taken the time in class to attack the...

It was an amazing bit of television. Almost instant(ly) followed by an amazing bit of scoop. *snip* The normally rational and analytical Mr. Rove had vanished. In his place was someone who looked like Karl Rove, sounded like Karl Rove…but spoke like the last guy out of the hoped-for-victory-party of the landslide losing candidate for Register of Deeds in NoPlaceville, Texas. What on earth was Rove thinking? He was bitter, angry, cutting, demeaning, mean-spirited…and those were the nice things he had to say about O'Donnell.

Barack Obama is a reformed doper, so of course he's against legalizing marijuana. Another disappointment for the legions of politically progressive fans who'd taken to Obamania as though it was its own opiate. Who is this guy, anyway? He's said he smoked dope and snorted coke in his youth. So where's the empathy, man? But forget about its effect on his policies. His druggie past is not helping him shape the overarching grit of his public character nearly as much as it could be. Weed and cocaine? Who's going to be impressed with that, when his hugely successful contemporaries like...

Attorneys general and legal team in states' lawsuit over 'Obamacare' go 'On the Record' with Greta

The former governor racked up some big wins for her endorsees—from a long-shot Tea Partier to a former Real World castmate. The outlook for these winners’ general election chances, however, is decidedly mixed. Sarah Palin had another successful primary night on Tuesday with conservative activist Christine O’Donnell’s stunning victory in Delaware. The surprise win, much like Palin endorsee Joe Miller’s big victory over incumbent Lisa Murkowski in Alaska’s Senate GOP primary last month, has political observers reeling. With 53 percent of the vote, O’Donnell beat Mike Castle, a popular 20-year veteran of the small state’s only House seat and a...

Clinton: New-look GOP makes Bush look liberalThe former president spoke at a fundraiser for DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton in Minneapolis. ASSOCIATED PRESS Last update: September 14, 2010 - 11:41 PM Former President Bill Clinton said Tuesday that the Republican Party is embracing "ideology over evidence" and pushing out pragmatic voices that would make even his White House successor seem like a liberal. Clinton, speaking at a DFL Party fundraiser in Minneapolis, said there was no mistaking that Republicans have tacked hard right and questioned whether former President George W. Bush would fit in among the party's candidates this year....