The Senate majority leader's wife, Landra, suffered a broken back and neck after the minivan she was riding in with her daughter, Lana Barringer, was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer truck on a highway in suburban Virginia. Neither woman's injuries appeared to be life-threatening, Reid's aides said.

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Andrew Cuomo said he has appointed an independent counsel to probe whether Gov. David Paterson illegally took World Series tickets or had improper contact with a woman who accused an aide of domestic violence. He said he is being cautious because of heated politics that have raised concerns about a conflict of interest when he says none exists.

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NPR's Russell Lewis tells us that in a Thursday afternoon teleconference, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo "says according to his preliminary findings, there are 'credible issues to review in a probe' of the governor. He has recused himself and appointed former Chief Judge Judith Kaye to oversee that review as an independent counsel."

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House Republicans have launched a full-blown ethics offensive against the Democratic majority. The issues are ethics violations and spending earmarks, two lines of attack Democrats employed when they won control of Congress four years ago.

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The man who won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in Illinois vacated the seat after he was accused of beating his wife. Democrats now have to fill the slot and are accepting online applications from anyone interested. Two candidates: state Rep. Arthur Turner, who came in second in the original race, and Jill Jaffe, an unemployed certified medical assistant with no political experience.

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President Obama met Thursday with senators who are trying to craft a bipartisan immigration bill. The meeting comes less than two weeks before immigrant rights activists are planning a march on Washington to draw attention to their cause, but so far the White House has been reluctant to put the issue on the front burner.

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With midterm elections approaching, Democrats and Republicans are battling to claim the clean-ethics crown. That's one reason Rep. David Obey (D-WI), chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said he's killing off one of lawmakers' most lucrative perks: corporate earmarks. Most of the earmarks come from the subcommittee that oversees defense spending.

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Senate Democrats and Republicans are trying to work out differences over how to overhaul financial regulations following the financial crisis. One of the big sticking points is the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Democrats, including President Obama, want a separate and independent agency. Republicans want it to be part of an existing agency but Democrats say that's been tried and didn't work.

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President Obama says the time for talk is over and that Congress needs to take an up-or-down vote on the health care overhaul plan. He traveled to St. Charles, Mo., to sell his plan Wednesday. It was his second trip outside of Washington this week to try to win congressional support for the plan. He also helped raise some cash for Democrats made vulnerable by the long legislative fight.

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The health care plans before Congress require individuals to purchase insurance. But the penalty for violating the individual mandate may be so low that healthy people might be tempted to pay it instead of buying insurance. That would leave insurers with less healthy customers, prompting companies to raise their rates, prompting more people to drop out, and so forth.

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Less than one year ago, President Barack Obama delivered a speech in Cairo in which he promised to redefine the relationship between the U.S. and the Islamic world. The speech was well-received across the Middle East, but it's unclear if perceptions or policy have changed.

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Justice Department attorneys who once helped represent terrorism detainees are at the center of a raging dispute. Conservatives say that the politically appointed lawyers are influencing U.S. policy to help their former clients.

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The divide on Capitol Hill is commonly depicted as Democrats versus Republicans and for good reason — the greatest rift in Congress is indeed partisan. But there's also a cleft between members of the same party, Democrats specifically, with a split between House and Senate members.

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The president denounced waste, inefficiency and downright fraud in the government's health care system on Wednesday as he sought to rally public support for his revamped overhaul plan.

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The legislation would give months of continued jobless checks to people who have been out of work for more than half a year and help the unemployed pay for health insurance. The 62-36 vote came over protests from conservatives who say the bill adds too much to the $12.5 trillion national debt.

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The Secret Service is looking into its own security procedures after determining that a Virginia couple managed to slip into Tuesday night's state dinner at the White House even though they were not on the guest list, an agency spokesman said. The Secret Service learned about the breach after the couple posted photos on Facebook.

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Florida Republican Gov. Charlie Crist is hoping to move to Washington, but his first challenge is to win his party's nomination in next year's Senate race. His rival, conservative former state house Speaker Marco Rubio, has been gaining ground, but Crist's campaign has begun to fight back.

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New details are emerging as President Obama's announcement of his Afghanistan troop decision nears. In a primetime address to the nation, Obama is expected to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan and to boost the training of Afghan forces.

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The administration cites a letter from economists as evidence that Democrats' plans for remaking the nation's health system will tackle costs.

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Fred Barbash of Politico moderates the site's arena. Participants are responding to the question, Obama's Charisma: Where Did He Leave It? Also, political junkie Ken Rudin fills us in on the first state dinner, and Gov. Mark Sanford's (R-SC) possible impeachment.

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President Obama will commit the U.S. to a goal of cuts in greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade at a climate conference in Copenhagen next month. His goal is to cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.

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President Obama will attend the climate change summit in Copenhagen next month and will commit the United States to reducing its production of greenhouse gases, the White House said Wednesday.

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President Obama will address the nation on his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan Tuesday night from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The president is expected to lay out his plans for expanding the Afghan conflict and, ultimately, ending America's military role.

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An Irish Catholic congressman is entangled in a very public battle with a Catholic Archbishop. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a Democrat from Rhode Island, says he was told not to take communion because of his views on abortion rights. The controversy illustrates a larger debate about the Catholic Church's priorities and core values. For more on the subject, guest host Jennifer Ludden talks with Frances Kissling, former president of Catholics for Choice, the Rev. Harry Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., Professor Stephen Schneck, director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America.

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At President's Obama's first state dinner Tuesday night, the menu was largely vegetarian in homage to India's Prime Minister Singh. Guests feasted on red lentil soup and roasted potato dumplings or green curry prawns. Plus an arugula salad from the White House garden and pumpkin pie to top it off.

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