Democrats in the House of Representatives are a literal party of extremes: According to a USA Today analysis of Census data, the Democrats represent the 10 most educated and 10 least educated districts in the country as well as the 10 districts with the highest levels of health coverage and nine of the 10 districts with the lowest levels. Furthermore, 57 percent of the 4.7 million households with incomes of $200,000 or more lived in Democratic districts in 2008, while back in 2005, 55 percent of those households belonged to Republicans. Affluent voters who traditionally vote Republican appear to have jumped ship to the Democrats. It's unclear whether this shift is temporary, or evidence of a more lasting trend.

The Senate Finance Committee’s health-care compromise won over one Republican, but labor unions are rallying against the bill, criticizing it as “deeply flawed” because it lacks a public-insurance option and taxes expensive health-insurance plans. The AFL-CIO and several of its affiliates bought ads in major newspapers that argued that a government plan is needed because it would keep costs down by competing with big insurers. The unions threatened to oppose the legislation unless changes are made to the final bill, and they’re worried that the president might sign a bill without the public option. An AFL-CIO lobbyist said he’s “optimistic the bill is going to improve.” But the president of another union, AFSCME, was harsher: "We worked like hell in 2006 to have the House go Democrat. We worked in all the other years for Democrats. Now we've got a Democrat in the White House and we expect some positive things.” Labor groups oppose taxes on health-care benefits because they’ve forgone higher wages in exchange for better benefits.

Prison life has been rough for eccentric alleged Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford, who was still suffering the wounds of a jailhouse brawl when he began spitting up blood during a court appearance on Wednesday. The Houston judge interrupted Stanford's lawyer to ask "Is your client OK?" and Stanford nodded and waved off a court officer who offered help. Despite being held in solitary confinement, Stanford suffered serious injuries from his brawl. Nonetheless, Stanford used Wednesday's hearing to decline a speedy trial; the judge agreed to stall another 60 days before setting a trial date to give Stanford's lawyers time to pore over more than 400 million pages of documents associated with the case.

Bruce Wasserstein, a Wall Street investment banker who helped drive the mergers and acquisitions phenomenon of the early 1980s, died Wednesday at age 61. The chairman and CEO of Lazard had been hospitalized earlier this week for a reported irregular heartbeat, but the cause of death is unknown. Wasserstein began his career as a lawyer, but quickly moved into investment banking. He worked on some of the biggest deals of the past 30 years, such as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts’ takeover of RJR Nabisco, and recently led the team advising Kraft in its efforts to take over Cadbury.

Benito Mussolini's doomed alliance with Nazi Germany during WWII is well documented—but new archival materials suggest that Mussolini worked for British intelligence during WWI, serving as an agent for a nation that he would later lead a war against. Cambridge historian Peter Martland explained his discovery to The Guardian: "Britain's least-reliable ally in the war at the time was Italy after revolutionary Russia's pullout from the conflict. Mussolini was paid £100 a week from the autumn of 1917 for at least a year to keep up the pro-war campaigning—equivalent to about £6,000 a week today." As a 34-year-old newspaper man, Mussolini's job was likely related to propaganda efforts. "The last thing Britain wanted were pro-peace strikes bringing the factories in Milan to a halt." After the armistice, Mussolini began his rise to power.

Madonna admits she still doesn’t have an ear for what new songs will be hits, even after almost three decades in the music industry, in her cover story in Rolling Stone. “I’ve never been a good judge of what things are going to be huge or not. The songs that I think are the most retarded songs I’ve written, like ‘Cherish’ and ‘Sorry,’ a pretty big hit off my last album, end up being the biggest hits… ‘Into the Groove’ is another song I feel retarded singing, but everybody seems to like it.” In the far-ranging interview, the singer discusses her eight-year marriage to Guy Ritchie (“challenging”), her evolving style (“a lot less calculated than people think”), and Lady Gaga (“she has that It Factor”).

Rush Limbaugh's dream of owning an NFL team is over. CNN reports that sports mogul Dave Checketts, ringleader of the group bidding on the St. Louis Rams that Limbaugh belonged to, released a statement Wednesday announcing that the radio jock would not continue as a limited partner in their group. "It has become clear that his involvement in our group has become a complication and a distraction to our intentions; endangering our bid to keep the team in St. Louis. As such, we have decided to move forward without him," Checketts said. For the group to successfully purchase the Rams, three-quarters of the NFL's 32 other owners would need to approve their bid—and the radio host's myriad enemies and racially charged history were proving to be a liability. Limbaugh had remained stalwart in his bid to the bitter end, announcing early this week, "I am not even thinking of exiting"—but ultimately the decision wasn't up to him.

Jon Bon Jovi will be “artist in residence” for NBC Universal over the next two months. In an unusual bid to promote his new album, The Circle, due November 10, the singer will appear exclusively on shows owned by the entertainment company, like the Today show, Saturday Night Live, and NBC Nightly News. Bon Jovi explained that “in a shrinking media environment, you have to kind of reinvent the wheel,” so he proposed the idea to NBC’s chief executive, Jeff Zucker, after his manager pitched it. The news story will focus on Bon Jovi’s philanthropic work in a segment called “Making a Difference,” and an interview on Bravo’s Inside the Actor’s Studio will cover the history of the band. NBC indicated that having artists in residence would be a recurring feature on its broadcast and cable channels.

Pay cuts are occurring more frequently than at any time since the Great Depression, except for—surprise!—on Wall Street. The Wall Street Journal reports that Wall Street is on track to award record pay—about $140 billion this year. Workers at 23 top investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers, and stock and commodities exchanges can expect to earn more than they did in 2007, the previous peak year, according to the Journal’s estimates. Success is credited to “a stronger stock market, thawing credit market, a resurgence in deal making and the continuing effects of various government aid programs.”

Next stop, 36,000? The Dow Jones closed above 10,000 for the first time in a year on Wednesday, after a brief bobble above and below the landmark number shortly before market close. The Dow Jones crossed 10,000 for the first time in March 1999, and did not do so again until December 2003. Then, it remained above 10,000 from October 2004 to October 2008. Its record high was 14,164.53 in October 2007, before falling 7,617 points during the financial crisis. It has now recovered almost half of that loss.

Perhaps they’ll go for a run together? Sam Stein at The Huffington Post reports that President Obama is set to visit New Jersey next week to campaign on behalf of Governor Jon Corzine. Obama will host a rally for Corzine at Fairleigh Dickinson University on October 21. The neck-and-neck race between Corzine and his challenger Chris Christie has gotten particularly nasty in recent weeks, with allegations that Corzine is targeting Christie regarding his weight.

Two weeks ago, Texas Governor Rick Perry ordered the replacement of Samuel Bassett, the head of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which was investigating the execution of a possibly innocent man. Now, Bassett tells the Chicago Tribune that he was twice pressured by Perry’s attorneys to abandon the investigation before his firing. "I was surprised that they were involving themselves in the commission's decision-making," Bassett said. "I did feel some pressure from them, yes. There's no question about that." The commission was reviewing the evidence in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed with Perry’s approval.

The first photos of Jaycee Dugard since her kidnap at age 11 appear in the new People magazine released Wednesday. Dugard, now 29, was allegedly kidnapped, repeatedly raped, and held by convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy for 18 years. Her hair is now a darker blond-brown and she looks more like a 19-year-old than a 29-year-old. Although People did not interview Dugard, her close associates spoke about the rehabilitation of her and her two daughters, Angel, 14, and Starlit, 11. A therapist is using horseback riding to help the family cope. Angel and Starlit have never been to school, but are evidently testing at grade level, which the family spokesperson said is a testament to the intelligence of Dugard, who only completed fifth grade. Dugard has reportedly enjoyed getting to know her 19-year-old stepsister, and cooking with her mother. In a statement to the magazine, Dugard said simply, "I'm so happy to be back with my family."

Could George W. Bush come back to haunt the GOP in 2010? Though the Republican Party’s prospects are looking good, memoirs by as many as five Bush administration officials are set to be published between New Year’s Day and next November. First up is Hank Paulson’s On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System. Laura Bush’s memoir will publish next, and then George W. Bush’s own book, tentatively titled Decision Points. After him, there’s Donald Rumsfeld, who has promised that the Iraq War will be covered in his book. Last but not least, there’s Karl Rove’s book. The good news for the GOP? Dick Cheney’s book isn’t slated until 2011.

Has Google finally overstretched itself with Google Wave? “Chatting on Wave is like talking to an overcurious mind reader,” Slate writer Farhad Manjoo said of Google’s new live-typing chat software. Unlike GChat and Twitter, the Wave, which Google is currently offering in invitation-only preview mode, outputs information stroke-by-stroke in real-time—meaning that the typer has no time to perfect his or her message before hitting “send.” The other person in the chat sees every keystroke. In addition to live chat, the Wave combines different kinds of messages (“waves,” “blips,” and “pings”) with widgets and threaded conversations in an attempt to consolidate other online interfaces. Though Google says the Wave will simplify the online experience, Manjoo says he found the software too complicated.

The National Book Awards announced their finalists for 2009 on Wednesday. Among the choice in fiction are Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin and Daniyal Mueenudinn’s In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. (Read The Daily Beast’s McCann review here and its Mueenuddin review here.) In non-fiction books about Henry Ford, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and evolution were shortlisted.

What better way to help children get over their famous father's death than to stick them on a reality TV show and let the cameras roll? Sure, it sounds insane, but according to Us Weekly, Prince, 12, Paris, 11, and Blanket, 7, will be starring in an upcoming A&E reality show about the Jackson family set to air in December and titled The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty. Not everyone is pleased with the idea. Eldest sister Rebbie, 59, has bowed out of the program and "feels Michael would spin in his grave if he knew his kids would be on this show," although Janet, 43, is on board. Apparently mom Katherine, who has custody of the children, is "just going along with things," according to an unnamed source. The show will consist of five hourlongor ten half-hour episodes, and has "23 cast members with the last name Jackson," according to executive producer Jodi Gomes, who added that all of them have "done a great job opening up about losing a brother."

Update your bookmarks, Republicans: Michael Steele’s blog on the much derided GOP.com has had its name changed from “What Up?” to “Change the Game.” The launch of the new site was widely made fun of—the GOP “future leaders” page was blank; the site crashed several times throughout the day; and administrators’ passwords were accidently published. Those who have a hard time accepting change can find comfort in the fact that Michael Steele’s blog still only has one post—the one it went up with yesterday.

A little thing like imprisonment won't keep Roman Polanski from finishing his latest movie. Pal Robert Harris, who wrote the script for Polanski's new film, The Ghost, starring Pierce Brosnan, says the erstwhile director is making "his wishes known from his cell" despite his inability to make phone calls. Polanski finished editing the film, about a British prime minister accused of war crimes, on the day of his arrest and recently gave instructions about the films score to Alexandre Desplat, who wrote the music to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The movie is set to premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February. As Harris put it, the release "will test to the upper limits the notion that there's no such thing as bad publicity."

In this recession, it's nice to know that empty pockets are doing some good. On Tuesday, the Treasury Department said that al Qaeda is "in its weakest financial condition in several years, and as a result, its influence is waning." Cutting off al Qaeda's funding proved easier than defeating ideology and extremism, and over the years, the U.S. has focused on cutting the network off from wealthy Arab benefactors. The terrorist organization was so strapped for cash that so far this year the group has already made four "public appeals" for money. Unfortunately, terrorism is cheap. Experts say September 11 cost a mere $500,000 to plan and carry out. While al Qaeda is languishing, the Taliban in Afghanistan have fat coffers, thanks to the country's booming drug trade and the group's penchant for extorting poppy farmers and heroin traffickers.

The purchase of the huge Manhattan apartment complex known as Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town by Tishman Speyer and BlackRock for $5.6 billion was a big deal when it went down in 2006. That was before the financial crisis. Now, the apartment complex is almost out of cash. The property is estimated to be worth only $2.1 billion now, and it could be in default by the end of the year. Many think that its failure would, according to The Wall Street Journal, signal “the beginning of what is expected to be a wave of commercial-property failures.” Its failure would rattle the market for other commercial properties like apartment buildings and hotels and would perhaps usher in a crisis for commercial mortgage-backed securities.

The House Financial Services Committee is set to take up key parts of President Obama’s proposal for new financial regulation Wednesday—including a measure that would for the first time regulate derivatives like credit-default swaps, which almost brought down AIG. The House committee will also consider creating a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to police mortgages, credit cards, and other consumer products offered by big banks. "The big banks have no clout," said chairman Barney Frank. "Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase. Nobody cares what they think, literally." But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—the nation’s largest business lobby—is opposing. Frank hopes the measures pass committee by the week’s end.

The portrait was presumed to be a 19th-century German painting of a young woman, but thanks to some CSI-style hijinks, forensic art expert Peter Paul Biro has convinced experts that it's actually a Leonardo da Vinci. Biro made his claim by examining a fingerprint on the canvas's paint, then using multispectral images and a special digital scanner to lift the fingerprint and match it to a fingerprint from da Vinci's St. Jerome in the Vatican. The painting's technical skill, style, and composition support the claim. The art collector Peter Silverman bought the portrait for a friend in 2007 for $19,000 from art dealer Kate Ganz, who had purchased the painting for the same price. If the painting's artist is confirmed as da Vinci, it will be his first major work discovered in 100 years, and could be worth $150 million or more.

Is Saudi Arabia the solution? Driven by a few successful prisoner rehabilitations in Saudi Arabia, the Obama administration wants to transfer more of its Yemeni prisoners to the kingdom. Although Yemen wants its prisoners to return home, the White House is reluctant to send them there for fear they'd slip back into militant networks because the Yemeni government has larger problems—insurgents, seccessionists, and a growing al Qaeda network. But Saudi Arabia is dragging its heels on the matter. It says that successful rehabilitations have only occurred in detainees with strong family ties to keep former prisoners from slipping. Plus, accepting detainees could prove a diplomatic nightmare. Yemeni detainees who slip back into al Qaeda could damage the kingdom's pride; the program would make the country a bigger target for terrorism; and Yemen, a close ally of Saudi Arabia, would probably consider the transfers an embarrassment.

Filippa Hamilton, the model whose figure was airbrushed to the point of emaciation for a controversial Ralph Lauren ad, claims that Ralph Lauren fired her, in fact, for being too fat. "They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore," she told the Daily News on Tuesday. "I was shocked to see that super skinny girl with my face. It's very sad, I think, that Ralph Lauren could do something like that." Ralph Lauren claims that the ad, which was only shown in Japan, was mistakenly released. "I think they owe American women an apology, a big apology," Hamilton said. "I'm very proud of what I look like, and I think a role model should look healthy."

The Environmental Protection Agency has released a scientific report—long-suppressed by the previous administration—that concluded that the government should begin to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions because climate change is a serious threat to the country. Known as an “endangerment finding,” the report was prepared in 2007, but the Bush White House refused to make it public because it opposed governmental efforts to control the emissions that most scientists believe is the major cause of global warming. This is the first time the document has been made public, even though its existence and the refusal of the Bush administration to release it were already known. An agency spokeswoman said that “conclusions reached then by EPA scientists should have been made public and should have been considered.” The Obama administration released a finding with nearly identical language in April.

Dr. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, makes the case against an attack on Iran in Wednesday's Financial Times: An attack on Iran, Haass says, would trigger retaliation in Iraq and Afghanistan, causing oil prices to triple in a matter of hours and preventing recovery in the current global economic crisis. Haass also says taking military action in Iran would make it "impossible" for the country's populace to challenge their government, giving the Revolutionary Guard the opportunity to make Iran's nuclear program a top priority.

Can't a first lady catch a break? On Tuesday TMZ.com published two photos of Maria Shriver holding a cell phone while behind the wheel of what appeared to be a Cadillac Escalade SUV, and thus flouting a law her husband signed in 2008 requiring California drivers to use hands-free devices in the car. Via Twitter, Schwarzenegger told TMZ.com founder Harvey Levin, "Thanks for bringing her violations to my attention. There's going to be swift action." A spokesman later clarified that by "swift action" the governator meant he'd ask Shriver to put down the phone while driving. Levin responded to Schwarzenegger's tweet by posting a video of Shriver on the phone and behind the wheel with the comment "your scofflaw wife was at it again."

We hope you aren’t sick of Megan Fox yet: The Transformers star and 23-year-old international bombshell will feature in the new Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans campaigns, according to WWD.com. Fox will be succeeding Victoria Beckham, who did a steamy underwear campaign last year featuring her husband, David Beckham, in some shots. The photos of Fox, shot over the weekend, will begin appearing worldwide in January.

If one wedding can cause family hysteria, imagine 20,000. Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the controversial 89-year-old founder of the Unification Church, married some 40,000 people participating in dozens of cities around the world on Wednesday. More than 20,000 people showed up to be wed and to renew their vows at the Sun Moon University south of Seoul on Wednesday, with another 20,000 people joining via simultaneous ceremonies in the U.S., Brazil, Australia, and elsewhere. Moon, a self-proclaimed Messiah who claims that Jesus asked him to finish his work, held the ceremony to mark his 90th birthday and 50th wedding anniversary. Critics say the mass weddings are cultlike in practice.

Michael Steele is playing down his organization's errors—again. The Republican National Committee launched GOP.com Tuesday with a series of embarrassing mistakes and numerous crashes. Among the problem spots: Administrators' passwords were temporarily published, a timeline of GOP accomplishments ended in 2004, and a section labeled "future leaders" was blank. Additionally, the site was down for most of the day. As the blogosphere began to ridicule the flailing site, RNC New Media Director Todd Herman pointed to "an enormous amount of traffic," while RNC Chairman Steele waxed poetic on "a whole new experience" that "has exploded off the blocks." He continued: "It's a good thing when you get another email saying 'It's down again,'" because it meant "a little thing called traffic" was flowing. Others noted that the headers looked "too much like the Chinese flag," but had positive feedback about the RNC's intentions. "There are no big conceptual problems here," said one new-media consultant.