For the first time under its new policy, the Obama administration is attempting to prevent legal proceedings over wiretapping from the Bush era on Friday. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the decision in a California lawsuit challenging the warrant-less wiretapping program, initiated after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. According to Holder, the case could not move forward without “jeopardizing ongoing intelligence activities that we rely upon to protect the safety of the American people.” The new state secrets privilege allows the government to dismiss a lawsuit if hearing the case would endanger national security, as Holder suggests. Though the Bush administration put the privilege to use numerous times, the Obama administration recently announced a new internal review process, limiting these decisions to more senior Justice Department officials. In this case, presiding U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker has been given a classified description of why the Justice Department believes the case must be dismissed, and Walker will assess the claim. One lawyer pursuing a similar case against the government was disappointed with Holder’s decision, saying, “The Obama administration has essentially adopted the position of the Bush administration.” Last month, the administration said it would try to set a higher bar for invoking the privilege.

A document unintentionally leaked online by a Hill staffer online reveals that the ethics committee and the Office of Congressional Ethics are investigating seven members—including Rep. John Murtha (D-PA)—of an important House subcommittee in control of Pentagon spending. In question: their relationship with PMA, a controversial lobbying firm—founded by Paul Magliocchetti, a former Capitol Hill aide—that has been under criminal investigation by the Justice Department since at least last year. According to the document, investigators are looking for House members who may have been “accepting contributions or other items of value from PMA’s PAC in exchange for an official act.” Collectively, the seven legislators under investigation have directed more than $200 million in earmarks to PMA clients in the last two years and received more than $6.2 million in campaign contributions from the lobbying group in the last ten years, according to The Washington Post. An unnamed Hill source told the Post that the committee has not come to any conclusions.

Hillary Clinton has faced a tough crowd on her trip to Pakistan this week as civilians and interviewers voiced frustration and anger over the United States’ use of aerial drone attacks in the country. U.S. officials stand behind the strategy as an effective means of killing terrorist leaders, but an audience member during one of Clinton’s television appearances likened the practice to “executions without trial.” During an interview, Sana Bucha of Geo TV told Clinton: “It is not our war. It is your war... You had one 9/11. We are having daily 9/11s in Pakistan.” In response, Clinton avoided specific comment on the use of drones, explaining only that “there is a war going on” and focused her comments on U.S. hopes of a relationship with Pakistan in other areas such as trade and education. "I want to have the kind of relationship where we really are talking honestly about everything between us--because there's just too much at stake," she said.

Now it's Abdullah Abdullah who's a no-go. After intense diplomatic negotiations last week between the U.S. and President Hamid Karzai to move forward with the Afghan runoff elections, challenger Abdullah will likely announce this weekend that he will boycott the November 7 run-off elections. Abdullah's demands for the resignation of top officials and politicians to avoid fraud in the second round of voting have not been met. After widespread fraud in the August elections, a recount left Karzai with less than 50 percent of the vote, triggering a runoff, to which Karzai agreed last week. President Obama has been holding off on a decision to send more troops to Afghanistan until the election dispute was resolved, citing concerns for stability. Karzai is holding last minute talks with Abdullah, trying to head off a boycott, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speculated that Abdullah's withdrawal could be personal, rather than an objection to the legitimacy of the elections.

U.S. stocks took a Halloween-eve tumble Friday as investor jitters returned. Posting its sharpest drop since April 20, the Dow fell 249.85 points, or 2.51%, to 9712.73, as all 30 stocks in the index posted losses. The S&P 500 fell 29.93, or 2.81%, to 1036.18, dragging the index to its first monthy decline since February. The selloff began after reports of low consumer confidence and spending and the threat of a CIT Group bankruptcy erased Thursday's gains. Heavyweight investor George Soros warned that the global economic recovery is "liable to run out of steam."

Thousands of Icelanders lined up for their last Big Mac, not lovin’ the fact that McDonald's will no longer be available on the financially troubled island nation as of Saturday. At the fast-food chain’s three Icelandic locations, customers waited at midnight to taste two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame-seed bun for the final time. Earlier this week, McDonald's announced that its three restaurants in Iceland would shut down on October 31, amid soaring costs after last year’s collapse of the country’s banks. Since the fast-food chain’s announcement, the three locations have reportedly been packed with lines of people overflowing onto the streets.

The administration has released a list of 500 people who have stepped foot inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue since Obama’s inauguration. Pundits jumped when a “William Ayers” showed up among the guests, but it turns out Ayers is among a group of the list’s “false positives”—visitors with famous names who are actually someone else, including Michael Jordan, Jeremiah Wright, and R. Kelly. The release of the list of visitors feels tame after this week’s investigation that named political donors who have gotten access to Obama and the White House grounds. Powerful lobbyists, big-time Democratic fundraiser George Soros, and Oprah Winfrey were all revealed to be among the White House’s visitors between January and July. A Freedom of Information Act request from news and ethics organizations prompted the list’s release. The administration started collecting names earlier this year and will be releasing them every 90 days, signaling a new age of transparency—though some names are still kept under wraps according to the limited exceptions clause.

Handsome San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he’s quitting the race to be the next governor of California. Though he was seen as a leading contender for the position, Newsom announced on Friday his withdrawal from the Democratic primary, citing responsibilities to both his family and San Francisco City Hall. “I have found it impossible to commit the time required to complete this effort the way it needs to—and should be—done,” Newsom said. Newsom has trailed State Attorney General and former Governor Jerry Brown in polls and fundraising, leaving him a clear path to the Democratic nomination. Although Newsom has been running for over a year, his campaign never got far off the ground and he reportedly told those close to him that he did not want to embarrass himself in the race to be California’s next governor.

Somali pirates demanded $7 million in ransom on Friday for British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler, whom they kidnapped last week. The pirates’ spokesman said the figure was “a little amount,” and was owed them for international anti-piracy patrol seizures. "When you consider the damage and all the people affected, we say the amount is not big,” the spokesman explained in a call to BBC. This marks the first mention of an exact ransom since the Chandlers were captured while on board their yacht off the Seychelles last Friday. Though the retired couple will likely be unable to pay that kind of money, the demand may lead to further negotiations. The Chandlers’ niece said the family was looking into the pirates’ demand while a Foreign Office spokesman said, “The Government isn't going to make any substantive concessions to hostage-takers, and that includes the payment of ransom." In a phone call to her brother earlier today, Rachel Chandler said the captors were “very hospitable” and assured him that she and her husband, Paul, were unharmed.

Talk about cradle-to-grave service. Wal-Mart offers baby clothes, engagement rings, and now, coffins—at its typical cut rates. The world's largest retailer is selling "Mom" and "Dad Remembered" steel versions for $895 and bronze renditions for $2,899, prices that undercut many funeral-home rates. The caskets can be dispatched within 48 hours and paid for over 12 months with no interest. A spokesman said the product line was part of "a limited test to understand customer response."

Last week Obama called "bunk" on accusations that his male-only basketball game among Congressional staffers at the White House was sexist. Now Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman is throwing down, challenging Obama to let her into his boys club. "Some women are saying you need a time-out," Lieberman writes in an open letter to the president. She then goes on to suggest, "To score some real points with the public, stop arguing and just play ball—with the best." Post-basketball criticism, Obama played a round of golf with a woman for the first time since his inauguration. Looks like the ball is in Obama's court.

Independent Senator Joe Lieberman continues to nettle the Democratic Party by saying that he will campaign for Republican candidates in 2010. Adding insult to injury, the man who was once the Democratic nominee for vice president said he may not seek the party nomination when he runs for re-election in 2012. Lieberman’s move to the right as been an ongoing affair: he supported John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Just this week, he said he would filibuster a health-care bill that contained a government-run insurance plan. "There's a hard core of partisan, passionate, hardcore Republicans," Lieberman told ABC News. "There's a hard core of partisan Democrats on the other side. And in between is the larger group, which is people who really want to see the right thing done, or want something good done for this country and them—and that means, sometimes, the better choice is somebody who's not a Democrat."

The stimulus created or saved at least 650,000 jobs, according to a report released by the White House on Friday. The report was based on $150 billion from the $339 billion in spending from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, so the White House believes that the final tally will likely be closer to 1 million jobs. The report is the first broad look at the effects of the stimulus on the U.S. economy. On Friday afternoon, the administration will post the complete report online. The numbers haven't been easy to compile, because the calculation—spanning state and local data, part-time and short-time jobs—is complicated. One government-spending expert predicted "a lot of discrepancies in the data" not due to "malicious intent, but because of the complexity."

A-Rod has a deep appreciation for art—as long as it’s depicting himself, an ex-girlfriend tells Us Weekly. The former flame says that Yankees star Alex Rodriguez had paintings of himself as a centaur hanging above his bed. “He was so vain,” she says. “He had not one, but two painted portraits of himself as a centaur. You know, the half-man, half-horse figure?" As a result, current girlfriend Kate Hudson has been trying to temper his ego, but is reportedly satisfied with other, less artistic aspects of the relationship. "They love sex!” said a friend, "They talk about it all day. Kate gets graphic talking about his body, even to her parents."

Liz Cheney, the former vice president’s daughter, went on the offensive Friday morning, calling President Obama out for his early-morning trip to honor fallen soldiers at Dover Air Force Base. Cheney told Fox News Radio: "I think that what President Bush used to do is do it without the cameras. And I don't understand sort of showing up with the White House Press Pool with photographers and asking family members if you can take pictures. That's really hard for me to get my head around...It was a surprising way for the president to choose to do this." But CBS News correspondent Mark Knoller has reported that President Bush never visited Dover. Earlier in the week, Dick Cheney attacked Obama for “dithering” over Afghanistan.

Sure, the health-care bill Nancy Pelosi rolled out Thursday is weaker than she'd hoped for, but it's evidence of how she’s changing the role of House Speaker by building consensus. Pelosi spent months meeting face-to-face with House members before rolling out her bill, causing House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) to say, "She has the ability like the local priest to listen." But for all her ability to build bridges, and despite completing the Herculean task of marshaling support for a health-care bill, she's not very popular. Senate Democrats have called her "she who would be queen"—and her poll numbers aren't great: Women tip against her, 36 percent to 31 percent, while men disapprove of her by a 2 to 1 margin.

People infected with HIV can now legally enter the United States, after President Obama reversed the 22-year-old policy that banned their entrance into the country on Friday. “If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it,” said President Obama of his decision to lift the ban. Twelve countries currently implement bans of this kind, and the U.S. was the first one to do so, a decision Obama said was “rooted in fear rather than fact.” The president argues that eliminating the policy, a process that began during George W. Bush’s presidency, will keep families together and push people to get tested and treated. Obama announced the decision while signing the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009. The bill honors Ryan White, a 13-year-old who contracted the disease after a blood transfusion and died in 1990 after fighting for the right to attend school. White’s mother was present during Friday’s signing.

Tony Blair is an ambitious man. Since stepping down as British prime minister, he has come to preside over a vast web of business and charitable interests that have, as the Financial Times put it, a "Byzantine structure" that makes Blair finances "difficult to understand." But for the man who would become the E.U.'s first president, the proximity of these ventures is uncomfortable. If he becomes E.U. president, he'd have to drastically alter his vast empire thanks to rules requiring office holders to forgo "paid or unpaid work." Blair's advisory work would have to end, he'd have to stop his lucrative practice of making speeches, his charities would have to be restructured to make him powerless, he couldn't raise funds for any of them, and he would have to skip the book tour for his forthcoming memoirs. It's no wonder he's not "mentally set" to take on the new role just yet, and is mulling his decision carefully. Would the sacrifice be worth it?

After a week of media speculation that Nelson Mandela might be at death’s door, it was clarified on Friday that the famous former South African president is healthy but will essentially retire from public life. Mandela famously told the world, “Don’t call me, I will call you,” when he officially retired five years ago, but still made occasional public appearances. Now, Mandela has “recently decided to cut back his engagements even further and spend more time with his family,” confirmed the chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. A statement added that the 91-year-old anti-apartheid leader is enjoying his “well-deserved retirement.”

Is Octomom ready to meet Jon Gosselin? Evidently, the father of eight has agreed to an outing with Nadya Suleman during a new reality show titled Jon - Kate = Jon + Octomom, the New York Daily News reports. According to the show's press release, Gosselin will contemplate "what hooking up with Octomom could really be like--He's totally creeped out by the idea that if they got married, they'd have 22 kids." The two-hour special, which Cheaters producer Bobby Goldstein is shopping to networks for Super Bowl Sunday, would net a tempting minimum $1 million each for Gosselin and Suleman. Gosselin's camp said that the reality star is "not interested in this type of television show," but the emails between show producers and Gosselin representatives tell another story.

A corruption lawsuit may tarnish former French President Jacques Chirac's legacy. The charges don't relate to his 12-year stint as president, but to his time as mayor of Paris. Thanks to a 10-year investigation, Chirac, 76, will be tried for allegedly rewarding his friends in the 1980s and 1990s. Chirac is charged with funneling taxpayer money to friends, political acquaintances, and celebrities by giving them nonexistent jobs. The "employees" purportedly did nothing or worked privately for Chirac on jobs that did not relate to the Paris Town Council. The charges against Chirac were frozen until 2007, when he left office, due to immunity laws.

A major potential deal with Iran to export its nuclear fuel has collapsed, The New York Times reports. European and American negotiators were seeking to engineer an agreement in which Iran would agree to send three-quarters of its uranium stockpile out of the country, thus reducing its ability to manufacture a nuclear weapon. But officials told the Times that Iran backed out only hours after its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad publicly indicated the country was ready to cooperate. “The key issue is that Iran does not agree to export its lightly enriched uranium,” the official said. “That’s not a minor detail. That’s the whole point of the deal.” If a new agreement can't be reached, Iran could face a tougher approach from the West, including possible sanctions, as well as heightened tensions with Israel.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's race for E.U. president may end in failure. It's a bad sign when your own country's leader stops believing in you: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown owned up that a Blair presidency "may not happen." According to a Telegraph poll, only 31 percent of British voters support him, compared to 31 percent opposed and 38 percent undecided. Underwhelming support for Blair's campaign at home may continue to sour the support of continental Europe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who initially supported Blair, has already gone quiet, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel supports another candidate. On Thursday night, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemborg, and Sweden banded together and attempted to use procedural rules to define the job as a chairmanship instead of the high-octane leadership position Blair covets.

One of the most successful comedy franchises of all time may be making a comeback. Columbia Pictures has hired Tropic Thunder writer Etan Cohen to write the next Men in Black movie, and veteran MIB director Barry Sonnenfeld is reportedly attached to the project, which could start production as soon as the spring of 2010. The film isn't a sure thing yet. The studio probably won't greenlight the picture unless Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones sign on. At the moment, Smith is said to be interested but not yet committed to reprising his role, although he does not currently have a film project lined up, while Jones' involvement is uncertain.

The Honduran military shocked the world when it expelled President Manuel Zelaya in June in a military coup. Now, after months of pressure from other countries, the interim government has reached an agreement with representatives of the ex-president that could allow Zelaya to return. The deal would create a power-sharing arrangement with a mutually recognized November 29 election. Zelaya is currently hiding in the Brazillian Embassy in Honduras' capital after a failed attempt to return to the country in September. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters the deal was "an historic agreement," and said "this is a big step forward for the inter-American system."

Nancy Pelosi released the House's version of the health-care reform legislation Thursday, unveiling a bill with a significant Medicaid expansion and a public option. The reforms, which include raising Medicaid eligibility levels to 150 percent of the federal poverty level and negotiated government health-care rates, would cover some 96 percent of Americans, cost just below $900 billion dollars over a ten-year period, and will not increase the budget deficit for two decades. The public option, originally intended to provide reimbursement to doctors and hospitals based on Medicare rates, will instead have its rates negotiated between health-care providers and federal health officials—a plan Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said his Senate bill would also include. The $900 billion price tag is reduced from the previous cost of $1.04 trillion thanks to the Medicaid expansion, which is more cost-effective for covering the poor than subsidies would be; much of the money to pay for the bill would come from a surcharge on wealthy taxpayers as well as money-saving changes to Medicare and Medicaid. Despite the compromises on the public option and Medicaid, disputes between Democrats and Republicans over federal money for abortion and care for illegal immigrants remain unresolved.

Was a coverup in the works early on for alleged schemer Raj Rajaratnam? An internal document has surfaced showing that JPMorgan Chase, which gained exposure to the Galleon hedge fund when it acquired Bear Stearns in 2008, may have suspected the hedge-fund associates of wrongdoing as early as 2001, the Financial Times reports. The memo raises a red flag about Galleon founder Rajaratnam, who, along with five other associates, was charged this month with leading the largest ever insider-trading scheme involving hedge funds. The note was written by a JPMorgan Chase analyst, and alleges that Galleon members "liked to operate in the 'gray areas.'" The report went on to warn, “If these allegations are true, there are some serious issues about business conduct.”

Sad news out of Hollywood: Dennis Hopper has prostate cancer, according to his manager, and is canceling his travel plans. The Easy Rider star canceled an exhibition of his artwork and photography at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne. Hopper, 73, is being treated through a "special program" at the University of Southern California, and his manager would not discuss his prognosis except to say "we're hoping for the best." Currently, Hopper plays crazed music producer Ben Cendars on the second season of Crash, a TV version of the 2004 film.

Facing the prospect of heading to Philadelphia down 2-0 in the World Series, the Yankees rode a stellar performance by pitcher A.J. Burnett, who gave up just four hits in seven innings, to a 3-1 victory Thursday night. "Everyone talked so much about our offense this year, but it was our pitching that made the difference," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter told reporters. "You win with pitching. We wouldn't have got here without it." The game featured a controversial call in which an umpire declared a line drive by Yankees' hitter Johnny Damon as caught by Ryan Howard, creating a double play. Subsequent replays appeared to show the ball hitting the dirt before entering Howard's glove.

More Bush-era torture documents could be forthcoming, if the Obama administration delivers on its promise to review more than 200 internal Bush documents, including a top-secret Defense memo outlining torture methods that authorities allegedly misplaced. The documents in question are part of a longstanding ACLU Freedom of Information Act request pertaining to the death, treatment, and rendition of detainees. The Bush administration had originally dismissed the now-scrutinized documents as irrelevant to the ACLU's request, but the Obama administration reversed such a decision. Special Prosecutor John Durham, who was tasked by the Bush administration to investigate the CIA's destruction of interrogation videos, could stand in the way if he claims that releasing the documents interferes with his case.

Somewhere, a Hill staffer is really kicking himself now: A confidential House ethics investigation report has been leaked to The Washington Post after it was accidentally placed on a public server. With this new data, the Post reports that more than 30 lawmakers and various aides are under scrutiny for activities related to defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, and includes details about already-troubled Charles Rangel (D-NY), powerful liberal Maxine Waters (D-CA), and high-ranking Financial Services Committee member Sam Graves (R-MO) The "Committee on Standards Weekly Summary Report," the leaked document, was prepared in late July and outlines ethics investigations of 19 lawmakers and a few staff members. Though many of the cases contained in the report are well known, the document indicates that the investigations are more sweeping than initially believed. Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee are being watched, as is the lobbying firm PMA Group.

A runoff that seemed a chance to bolster the Afghan government's legitimacy after questionable elections is quickly turning into a potential disaster. United Nations officials are livid after Afghanistan's election commission announced it is expanding the number of polling locations in the runoff election, despite warnings from international observers that too many voting centers led to possible ballot-stuffing during the first election. One Western diplomat told the Guardian that the move was a "punch in the stomach, because everything we asked them to do they rejected." Afghan President Hamid Karzai's top opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, had committed to accepting the runoff provided that 500 polling sites were closed.

Pakistani troops waging a military offensive against Taliban forces along the Afghan border have unearthed key documents related to the 9/11 attacks. According to the Associated Press, the military turned up a German passport belonging to Said Bahaji, who is believed to be one of the men behind the Hamburg al Qaeda cell that planned the 2001 terrorist attacks against New York and Washington. He left Germany before the attacks were carried out. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has criticized Pakistan in recent days for failing to catch top al Qaeda members believed to be in inside the country. "I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to," Clinton said in an interview with Pakistani reporters on Thursday. "Maybe that's the case. Maybe they're not gettable. I don't know."

The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy are searching for as many as nine victims of a collision between a Coast Guard plane and a Marine Corps helicopter off the Southern California coast. The crash, reported Thursday evening, took place about 50 miles from the San Diego County coast. A pilot reported seeing a fireball near the crash site. Seven people were aboard the C-130 aircraft, and two were aboard the AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter, which was on a training mission. Debris from the C-130 has been found.