House Passes Health Plan for 4M More Kids

(NEWSER) - House Democrats, who held a 36-seat lead going in, beefed up their advantage tonight and appeared likely to keep padding it as results continued to pour in. Christopher Shays, the lone Republican in the New England delegation, was the highest-profile victim of an emerging landslide, but John Murtha of Pennsylvania appeared to have dodged the bullet he fired at his own foot by calling his district "racist." At least seven seats flipped in the East, while just one moved into the GOP column. More»

Despite losing by just 3%, she'll stick with job helping veterans

(NEWSER) - A decorated disabled Iraq war vet announced she won't launch a second battle for an Illinois congressional seat, despite losing the last election to a Republican by less than 3%. Tammy Duckworth, who lost her legs in a grenade attack on a helicopter she was co-piloting, said she'll continue her current job as state director of veterans' affairs. More»

Unusual move allows vote against war, for domestic spending

(NEWSER) - House Democratic leaders are splitting the new Iraq funding bill into two distinct amendments, the Politco reports. One will be the $103 billion Bush requested for the war in Iraq, which will speak of benchmarks but won't demand a withdrawal date, the other a $17 billion domestic spending package. More»

Republicans need a net gain of 3 seats, and 5 Dem-held seats are toss-ups

(NEWSER) - Thanks in part to a rash of Democrats retiring from the Senate , things are looking pretty good for the Republicans in 2012. In the first edition of its 2012 race ratings, The Hill places five seats currently held by Democrats in the “toss-up” column—and Republicans only need a net gain of three seats to win control. Three of those toss-ups are due to retirements; the other two are Montana Sen. Jon Tester and Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson. More»

Deal will probably preempt secret ballot

(NEWSER) - The sound and fury of the midterm elections may be over, but the end of electoral voting brings about a round of behind-the-scenes jockeying for power. Reps. James Clyburn and Steny Hoyer are both plausible candidates for leading the Democratic minority in the house, but given that Nancy Pelosi will keep her post (well, with "majority" changed to "minority") they've begun low-key insider campaigns for the No. 2 slot, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»