Richmond va

BOB LEWIS
Associated Press Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Republican Bob McDonnell easily won the governor's race Tuesday, just a year after the state went overwhelmingly for President Barack Obama and the Democrats.

Unofficial results showed McDonnell, a conservative and former state attorney general, defeating Creigh Deeds with more than 60 percent of the vote. He will be the state's first Republican governor in eight years.

GO GO republicans

By LIZ SIDOTI, AP National Political Writer Liz Sidoti, Ap National Political Writer – 6 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Republicans wrested political control of Virginia from the Democrats on Tuesday as independent voters swung behind the GOP, a troubling sign for President Barack Obama and his party heading into an important midterm election year. Exit polls showed unpopular Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine locked in a close race in New Jersey, where independents were heavily favoring his Republican challenger.

Republican Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell's victory in Virginia over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds was a triumph for a GOP looking to rebuild after being booted from power in national elections in 2006 and 2008. It also was a setback for the White House in a swing state that was a crucial part of Obama's electoral landslide just a year ago. The president had personally campaigned for Deeds.

cop killer

$60,000 offered to help catch Seattle cop killer
Police say they have no new information on a suspect or motive in the shooting death of a Seattle police officer as he sat in a parked patrol car on Halloween night. The reward for information to help catch the killer of Officer Timothy Brenton is now up to $60,000.

VOTE

High Traffic anticipated at the Thurston County Courthouse

Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 30, 2009

High Traffic Volume Anticipated at Thurston County Courthouse

OLYMPIA – Thurston County is anticipating heavy traffic volume at the courthouse on Monday, November 2, 2009 and citizens are encouraged to use one of the other 23 ballot drop boxes located throughout the county. “Monday is the day before Election Day and the last day for people to pay their property taxes,” commented Auditor Kim Wyman. “This may cause long lines of cars in the parking lot and frustration for citizens requesting replacement ballots at the courthouse.”

As a result of these two events, parking will be limited. Locations of the ballot drop boxes are listed on the yellow card inserted with ballot materials, in the Local Voters’ Pamphlet, and online at www.ThurstonVotes.org. For further elections information, call (360) 786-5408.

Father of 9/11 Victim Fights to Have 'Murdered by Muslim Terrorists' Inscribed on Son's Memorial

KENT, Conn. — Peter Gadiel wants everyone to remember his son, James, who was killed during the September 11 terrorist attacks.

And he also wants people to remember how he died: "Murdered by Muslim terrorists."

For Gadiel, any tribute to his son would be woefully incomplete without those words.

"I think it's important, because I think there's a nationwide effort to suppress the identity of the people who were involved in the attacks," Gadiel told Fox News.

Eight years ago, 23-year-old James Gadiel worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center. He died when a hijacked plane crashed into the North Tower.

For years, Gadiel's hometown of Kent, Conn., has wanted to honor the young man with a memorial plaque next to its town hall. But the tribute has hit a snag because James' father wants to include the phrase, "Murdered by Muslim terrorists," under his son's name.

For Peter Gadiel, it is a central fact of the Sept. 11 attacks that is often left out.

"It isn't just overlooked, it's suppressed," Gadiel said. "It's simply wrong to imply that people just died. The buildings didn't just collapse, they didn't just fall down — they were attacked by people with a specific identity, a specific purpose."

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
By Douglas Kennedy

No strategy for Afghanistan

A former Marine Corps captain with combat experience in Iraq, Hoh had also served in uniform at the Pentagon, and as a civilian in Iraq and at the State Department. By July, he was the senior U.S. civilian in Zabul province, a Taliban hotbed.

But last month, in a move that has sent ripples all the way to the White House, Hoh, 36, became the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war, which he had come to believe simply fueled the insurgency.

"I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan," he wrote Sept. 10 in a four-page letter to the department's head of personnel. "I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end."

Swine FLU

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer – 34 mins ago
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency and empowered his health secretary to suspend federal guidelines at hospitals and speed up how infected people might receive treatment in a disaster.

The declaration that Obama signed late Friday means Health and Human Services chief Kathleen Sebelius to bypass federal rules when opening alternative care sites, such as offsite hospital centers at schools or community centers, if needed.

Hospitals could modify patient rules — for example, requiring them to give less information during a hectic time — to quicken access to treatment, with government approval.

The declaration, which the White House announced Saturday, allows HHS in some cases to let hospitals relocate emergency rooms offsite to reduce flu-related burdens and to protect noninfected patients.

Administration officials said the declaration was a pre-emptive move designed to make decisions easier when they need to be made. Officials said this was not in response to any single development on an outbreak that has lasted months and has killed more than 1,000 people in the United States.