11 QuickLinks

Sunday, October 25, 2009
Americans pull strings in Afghan election
As the U.S. increasingly gets its backside kicked in Afghanistan, it has blamed the powerless Karzai for its woes and bumbling. You can almost hear Washington rebuking, "bad puppet! Bad puppet!"

Sunday, October 25, 2009
Morale dips for American marines in Afghanistan
“I'm not much for this war. I'm not sure it's worth all those lives lost,” said Sergeant Christian Richardson as we walked across corn fields that will soon be ploughed up to plant a spring crop of opium poppy.

Sunday, October 25, 2009
Upstart Israel lobby draws controversy
By taking on the long-established AIPAC and the hawkish Israeli government, and by embracing individuals who have expressed hostility to Israel, J Street also has alienated some veteran Israel supporters in Washington.Twelve members of Congress who were initially listed on the conference's host committee of more than 160, including both senators from New York, have withdrawn their names.

Sunday, October 25, 2009
Yankees 5, Angels 2: Yankees Win A.L.C.S., 4-2
For the 40th time, the Yankees won the American League pennant, which they clinched with a 5-2 victory over the Angels in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday night.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Honduras agrees to Zelaya talks
The de facto Honduran government has said that it is willing to talk to Manuel Zelaya if the ousted president recognises the legality of presidential elections scheduled for November.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Bob Herbert -- The Hard and Bitter Truth
The president's handpicked point man in the war zone, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, wants more troops and a stepped-up commitment by the United States that would lock us into the conflict indefinitely, with nothing like an exit strategy in sight, or even a conception of what victory might look like.

Friday, September 18, 2009
In Health Care, Number Of Claims Denied Remains A Mystery
Are health insurance companies generally being fair and honest when they reject claims from policy holders? "This is one of the dark corners of the black box that is private health insurance," said Karen Pollitz, a professor at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute.

Saturday, July 4, 2009
Bernard Madoff hires help to survive hard time
Bernard Madoff has hired a veteran prison consultant to help him to find the best possible jail in which to serve his 150-year sentence for Wall Street's biggest fraud. A sentence above 30 years usually places an inmate in a high-security category, meaning that Madoff would be assigned to a prison housing violent offenders including murderers and rapists.

Saturday, July 4, 2009
KBR might seek federal funds in truck driver case
(2 comments) KBR may ask the U.S. government to reimburse it for legal bills if a jury decides the company failed to protect KBR truck drivers during a deadly April 2004 roadside attack. But the idea is only hypothetical at the moment. KBR lawyers are preparing to file motions that will ask U.S. District Court Judge Gray Miller in Houston to dismiss the cases before they go to trial.

Saturday, July 4, 2009
In Israeli jail, McKinney expects more from Washington
Former US lawmaker Cynthia McKinney, who is in an Israeli jail for trying to take humanitarian aid to Gaza, says the White House has done nothing to secure her release. She also criticized US President Obama and his special envoy for their policies in the region, saying she was seeking to do what "neither President Obama nor his special envoy has done and that is to visit Gaza in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead."

Saturday, July 4, 2009
Advocacy Groups Should Halt Attacks on Moderate Democrats, Obama Says
President Obama, strategizing yesterday with congressional leaders about health-care reform, complained that liberal advocacy groups ought to drop their attacks on Democratic lawmakers and devote their energy to promoting passage of comprehensive legislation.