A draft of the House Republicans' health-care bill has been made public, revealing legislation that focused on lower costs rather than expanding coverage. The bill—weighing in at 230 pages to the Democrats’ 1,990-page proposal—doesn't stop insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and has no requirement that people buy health insurance. It also caps malpractice damages, encourages the creation of insurance pools, and provides incentives for people to use health savings accounts. Aides to Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) have said that the bill is a draft, and changes may still be made.

Republicans swept Tuesday's gubernatorial races, with Bob McDonnell easily winning in Virginia and Chris Christie squeaking ahead of incumbent Jon Corzine in New Jersey. The New Jersey loss is a big blow for Democrats, as President Obama had campaigned heavily for Corzine. And results reverse a trend for Virginia, which has had Democratic governors for the past eight years and last year, for the first time in 44 years, went blue to elect Barack Obama. Leading up to the election, pundits speculated that a Republican gubernatorial sweep could indicate dissatisfaction with the administration in Washington, but exit polls indicated that voting reflected feelings about the economy, not Obama. Exit polls showed that 89 percent of voters in New Jersey, and 85 percent in Virginia, were "very" worried about the economy for the upcoming year.

Abdullah Abdullah did not necessarily go gently into the night when he bowed out of the Afghanistan presidential race. Though the candidate tried to claim conscientious objection to a flawed electoral system, U.S. and Afghan officials say that Abdullah was negotiating with Hamid Karzai for power sharing and cabinet posts, though it's unclear which side initiated the conversations. During negotiations, one of Adbullah's advisers was bargaining for cabinet posts, said one Afghan official. Karzai has vowed to fight corruption, though there's speculation about whether he would do that by removing top officials or enacting constitutional reforms.

The hotly contested race for New York's mayoral seat had politicos on the edges of their seats Tuesday night when it was called, then uncalled, by several news organizations. Public radio station WNYC has a screen grab from The New York Times' coverage at 9:58 p.m. EST bannering "Bloomberg Wins Third Term as Mayor," which by 10:12 p.m. EST had been modified to read "Bloomberg Projected to Win Third Term." MSNBC had also called the race for Bloomberg, but retracted it when their monitoring service withdrew the prediction. The latest reports show Bloomberg victorious, finally.

Seven African-American lawmakers are under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, while not a single white lawmaker is the subject of a full-scale investigation. The seven black Congressmen account for about 15 percent of the total number of African-American members in the House. An unnamed House Democrat told Politico that members of the Congressional Black Caucus worry that they are being set up. The House members under investigation: California Democrats Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson, Reps Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Donald Payne (D-NJ), and Del. Donna Christensen (D-U.S. Virgin Islands).

The ride to Berkshire Hathaway's ownership of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. started on Oct 22, when Berkshire's chairman Warren Buffett met with Burlington CEO Matthew Rose at the Ashton Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas following a company board meeting. Rose says that the day after the "relatively short conversation," the two men "fired up the process," with the CEO taking the $100-a-share offer to his board. That weekend, Rose hired Goldman Sachs to analyze the bid, bringing in Evercore Partners Inc. to assist, since Berkshire has a substantial stake in Goldman. Over the next week, Buffett and Rose hammered out the details, and the Burlington board approved the sale on Monday in Detroit. The same evening, Berkshire's board approved the deal, and Buffett announced it Tuesday morning. The $100-a-share deal gives Berkshire the remaining 77.4 percent of Burlington stock not already owned by the holding company at a total value of about $44 billion.

Run, don't walk, to grab tickets for what's being billed as "The Hottest Ticket in Political History." Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will face off at Radio City Music Hall on February 25, as part of a "Minds That Move the World" speakers series. The program brings together liberal and conservative thinkers, such as Karl Rove, James Carville, Al Gore, Bill Maher, and Mike Huckabee. The tickets, which go on sale Sunday, are being hawked for $60 to $1,250.

The good news: There’s been an increase in the number of swine-flu vaccines available. The bad news: The increase is no match for the fast-spreading disease. “We are seeing a steady increase in the availability of the vaccine, but not as quickly as we’d like it to be,” the CDC’s director says. H1N1 has already caused 1,000 deaths in the U.S. and infected 5 million total, and the government has now received 31.8 million doses of the vaccine for the new breed of flu. The scarcity of the shot led to raised eyebrows (and fists) over reports that Guantanamo detainees would be vaccinated, but the White House is now denying the claims. “There is no vaccine in Guantanamo and there’s no vaccine on the way to Guantanamo,” spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Does James Franco have a funny bone? The Golden Globe-winning actor will be guest starring on sitcom 30 Rock, a source tells Entertainment Weekly. His story line will play out in a romance with Jane Krakowski's character, Jenna. Though the liason will be fake, a stunt engineered by their publicists, Franco is said to be playing himself. He's scheduled to start filming this week, though NBC declined to confirm the rumor. Franco is already making television appearances with a recurring role on General Hospital.

The Louisiana justice of the peace who, to the outrage of many, refused to marry a black and white couple resigned Tuesday. Keith Bardwell left no explanation in his letter of resignation, saying only "I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009." Bardwell sparked national headlines when he shot down an interracial marriage between Beth Humphrey, who is white, and Terence McKay, who is black. Such treatment was routine for Bardwell, who says he believes interracial marriages to be detrimental to couples' children. Public officials, including Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, had called for Bardwell to step down.

Speedskating will be getting a whole new kind of exposure now that The Colbert Report has stepped up as the sport's new sponsor. The fake-news show swooped in to save the struggling Olympic team after its main sponsor, DSB Bank NV, declared bankruptcy last month, leaving the team little time to attract new sponsors. The show isn't making up the $300,000 sponsorship gap by handing over cold hard cash, but rather calling on Colbert fans for donations. Gold medalist Dan Jansen appeared on the Report Monday with U.S. Speedskating's executive director, who acknowledged it as an "unconventional arrangement." But it's worked in the past, when the show raised money for a charity for injured service members.

Can you hear me now? Engadget is reporting that T-Mobile cellular service is down all over the country. A T-Mobile spokesperson confirms that both voice and data services are down, and that rapid response teams have been deployed to take care of the technological hiccup stat.

The upcoming Oscars will mix a little bit of the old with the new: The Academy has selected veteran host Steve Martin and 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin to co-host the ceremony. Producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman announced the news late Tuesday, hailing the duo as “the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars.” The actors responded in their typical manner to the plan. “I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin,” Martin said in a news release. “I don’t play the banjo but I’m thrilled to be hosting the Oscars—it’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” added Baldwin. Martin, who does play the banjo, has hosted the telecast twice before. Both actors are starring in Universal’s upcoming comedy It’s Complicated from director Nancy Meyer. Deadline Hollywood Daily’s Nikki Finke had previously reported that Hugh Jackman, Ben Stiller, and Robert Downey Jr. turned down the hosting gig.

The stakes were high and the mood tense as voters took to the booths Tuesday. Among the closely watched races were the gubernatorial battles in Virginia and New Jersey, and a gay-marriage ballot in Maine. Many speculated that the results of those votes would be read as an important indication of the public mood and Obama's influence just one year after his historic election, but early exit polls show Obama to be a nonfactor in race results. Though regional elections results aren't necessarily a sign of national sentiments, Obama did entrench himself in the local message by appearing in person to campaign alongside Creigh Deeds of Virginia and Jon Corzine of New Jersey. The races come at a crucial time, as lawmakers are trying to push through health-care reform before the end of the year, though Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hinted Tuesday that may not happen.

Bernie Madoff's longtime accountant, David Friehling, pleaded guilty Tuesday to abetting one of the most devastating Ponzi schemes in history, which brought down thousands of victims and more than $21 billion in lost funds. Friehling, who verified Madoff's accounts for nearly 20 years, admitted that he never legitimately audited the brokerage firm and acknowledged his conflict of interest as an independent auditor because of his own investments in Madoff's operation. Friehling still maintained, as he has since the day of his arrest, that he was not aware of the Ponzi scheme. Friehling is cooperating with federal investigators in hopes of a more favorable sentence. His guilty plea to nine criminal charges could land him in jail for up to 114 years. Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence in North Carolina.

Election day is in full swing, but with moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava's withdrawal from Tuesday’s special congressional election energizing the conservative wing of the Republican Party, GOP strategists are already facing the possibility that the party's right wing will challenge about a dozen of their top candidates in 2010 primaries, Politico reports. Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Connecticut Representative Rob Simmons and Illinois Representative Mark Kirk—all candidates for highly contested Senate seats—are in the crosshairs for conservative activists who find their politics too liberal. In what might be the most high-profile of these battles, Crist, a moderate Republican and popular Florida governor, is being challenged for the Republican senate nomination by Marco Rubio  a favorite of the right-wing tea party movement who's received an endorsement from Jim DeMint (R-SC).

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was given another five-year term after his only rival withdrew from a runoff, said in his first speech since the decision that he would "launch a campaign to clean the government of corruption.” President Obama and America's European allies have pressed Karzai to help put a stop to rampant corruption, some of it connected to illegal drug trafficking, that has helped the Taliban gain a foothold in the country, but Karzai gave no clear indication what he would do to end corruption besides "see what problems are in the law and... draft some new laws," as well as strengthen an anti-corruption commission. American and European officials have indicated that they'd like to see stricter standards of accountability, plus arrests of "blatantly corrupt" Afghan officials—possibly including Karzai's brother Ahmed Wali Karzai—though they acknowledge that the odds of such arrests is slim. In his speech, Karzai did not say he would give his former rival, Abdullah Abdullah, a place in the government. The Obama administration, currently deliberating on long-term strategy in Afghanistan, has said that the re-appointment of Karzai has no effect on the timetable for their troop strategy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed a joint session of Congress today and encouraged the U.S. to take proactive steps on global warming amid bipartisan divide over a climate bill. International climate talks will be held in Copenhagen next month, and Merkel stressed the importance of industrialized nations taking the lead to embrace legislation that will curb climate change, saying that it was the only way for developing countries like India and China to follow. While Democrats responded to Merkel's words with a standing ovation, Republicans' reception was tepid. Republicans are worried that the EPA hasn't conducted a proper economic analysis of the bill yet. The bill, co-authored by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by forcing businesses to buy and sell emission permits.

Sarah Palin was loath to cede Michigan to the Obama campaign last year and pressed McCain aides for weeks to let her go to the state, according to an excerpt of Sarah From Alaska. "If there's any time, Todd and I would love a quick return to Michigan—we'd tour the plants, etc.," she wrote in an email. "I hate to see us leave Michigan." According to the book, Palin's feelings about Michigan were so strong, in fact, that McCain campaign manager Rick Davis attempted to order Secret Service agents to prevent the candidate from traveling there against orders—because Palin had concocted a plan for a rogue midnight visit, perhaps with Leno or Letterman.

Singer Rihanna, whose romance with fellow musician Chris Brown came to a crushing public conclusion when he beat her up on the eve of the Grammy Awards, is speaking out for the first time in nine months. In an interview airing Thursday on Good Morning America and Friday on 20/20, the 21-year-old tells Diane Sawyer: "This happened to me… It can happen to anyone.” It was hard to move on, Rihanna adds, because "he was definitely my first big love." Brown is currently serving his sentence and working on new music—his album Graffiti is due for a Dec 15 release—while Rihanna's new album Rated R drops Nov 23.

Safety analysts have found some 2,000 cases of Toyota cars—including Camry, Prius and Lexus models—accelerating without warning to speeds of up to 100 mph, according to their owners, many of whom believe the problem to be with the cars' electrical systems and not due to faulty floor mats—the official explanation given by Toyota. The car company vehemently denies that the problem lies in the vehicles' electronics, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found no defects in those systems in its six investigations, but Toyota owners remain adamant that the problem floor mats had nothing to do with the dangerous acceleration. Bulent Ezal, whose wife died in an accident in central California, says his foot was "absolutely, positively on the brake," while a 911 call from an out-of-control Lexus driven by California Highway patrol officer Mark Saylor includes Saylor's brother-in-law saying "our accelerator is stuck... there's no brakes."

Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet accepted a weighty sum of around $40,000 in damages from the Daily Mail, the U.K. newspaper that incorrectly reported that the movie star had lied about her exercise regimen. Winslet, a critic of body image-obsessed Hollywood culture, said that her quest for an apology demonstrated her "commitment to views I have always expressed about body issues, including diet and exercise." The Titanic actress had previously won a fat settlement from a magazine that falsely reported she had visited a diet doctor. The Daily Mail's owners, Associated Newspapers, apologized for "any distress caused."

French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss died over the weekend at the age of 100. Born into a Jewish family in Brussels in 1908, Lévi-Strauss studied law and philosophy in Paris before taking a position as a visiting professor in Brazil for four years. Unable to live in Paris because of the Nazi occupation, the thinker took a position at the New School in New York City, returning to Paris and becoming a professor of social anthropology at the College de France after the war. Lévi-Strauss's structuralist approach to anthropology attempted to transfer the linguistic concepts of Ferdinand de Saussure to his chosen discipline, finding the underlying structures that govern and help define human relationships and culture. His work on myths, which he held were determined by oppositions—life and death, raw and cooked, nature and culture—was deeply influential to a generation of French scholars. Tristes Tropiques, likely his best-known work in the English-speaking world, was widely considered his masterpiece; Susan Sontag called it "one of the great books of our century."

In his first appearance at his own war crimes trial, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic demanded more time to prepare his defense, saying he could not join the trial until he had read some 1.3 million pages of court documents. After a week of boycotting, the accused war criminal attended a procedural hearing, where Judge O-Gon Kwon told the defendant that it was in his own interest not to block the trial. Kwon has indicated that he might impose a lawyer to represent Karadzic if the accused remains absent at the trial; Karadzic, in turn, said he will not accept another lawyer, that he wants to represent himself, and that he needs more time to prepare—despite having been indicted in 1995. Karadzic is on trial for two charges of genocide and nine further charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity; prosecutors have accused him of leading a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Bosnians between 1992 and 1995.

Republicans are hoping to finish out Tuesday's elections by picking up governor's seats in both Virginia and New Jersey, possibly demonstrating a national mood far less favorable to Obama and the Democrats than during last year's election. In Virginia, the Republican candidate, Bob McDonnell, heads into the election with a double-digit opinion-poll advantage over his Democratic rival, Creigh Deeds, while in New Jersey, Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine and Republican challenger Chris Christie are neck-and-neck. While the likely Republican win in Virginia reflects a generally Republican state—Obama is the only Democratic presidential nominee to win the state since 1964—the New Jersey race could be a setback for Democrats, who tend to do well in the liberal state. Obama has campaigned extensively for Corzine in the state the president won by 16 points last year, but polls show the candidates in a dead heat, with independent Chris Daggett consistently pulling about 10%. In a smaller race that's nonetheless drawn national interest, Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman is squaring off against Democrat Bill Owens for the New York congressional seat left vacant by Republican John McHugh, appointed Secretary of the Army by President Obama. NY-23, usually a safe Republican seat, became the focus of nationwide attention when conservatives derided original Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava as too liberal; Scozzafava withdrew from the race this weekend, and, in an unusual twist, endorsed the Democrat.

A growing population of refugees is stuck in exiled limbo in Indonesia, a nation that some accuse the Australian government of paying off to keep would-be asylum-seekers at bay. The defeat of the Tamil Tigers by the Sri Lankan military in May has created a surplus of refugees flooding Australia’s shores. In the past year, more than 1,700 people have arrived in Australia via boat, compared to 161 last year, and the past month has shown a drastic spike in asylum-seekers. The refugees have been making their way to Australia via Indonesia, where it has become procedure for Australian officials to intercept them. The opposition party in Australia blames the rise in refugees on new relaxed policies and an alleged agreement referred to as the "Indonesian Solution," in which Australia paid $45 million for Indonesia to hold asylum-seekers en route to Australia. The only problem is, the asylum-seekers don't want to stay in Indonesia and have protested with hunger strikes and suicide threats. Neither country wants to take responsibility for the refugees.

"The government is going to have to get serious about reducing our debt levels," President Barack Obama told his Economy Recovery Advisory Board Monday. This was the board's second meeting with the president; it was established to provide the White House with an independent voice on the economy. While saying that the government's focus must also be on job growth, Obama said that the private sector must lead the way. The president indicated that unemployment figures will get worse before they get better. “We anticipate that we are going to see some job losses in the weeks and months to come,” Obama said.

In a move that may come as early as Tuesday, the British government will be chopping up its major banks that were bailed out by taxpayers. Under pressure from European regulators, Britain will be forcing the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, and Northern Rock to sell off parts of their operations. Across the pond, the U.S. has been reluctant to make similar moves, arguing that there needs to be a solution for liquidating large banks that go bust. Advocates of downsizing say that large financial institutions take enormous risks because they assume the government will bail them out. America's three largest banks, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, control about one-third of the nation's deposits and are the main players in providing mortgage loans and credit cards. Experts are piping up, and most seem to support nationalization of the banking system.

The right wing of the Republican Party is fighting for a victory in New York's 23rd Congressional district Tuesday, hoping that a conservative candidate can secure a seat and help ignite a purge of moderates from the GOP. "Moderates by definition have no principles," Rush Limbaugh said during his radio show Monday. Democrats have also seized on the conservative excitement for a win, sending Vice President Joe Biden to the area Monday to stump for his party. "Sarah Palin thinks the answer to energy is 'Drill, baby, drill,'" Biden said. "It's a lot more complicated, Sarah." A recent poll showed the conservative candidate Doug Hoffman leading his Democratic opponent Bill Owens by 5 points, with 18 percent of voters undecided.

Is Islam ready for a big-budget Hollywood blowout? Barrie Osborne, the producer of such blockbusters as The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix, has set to work on an English-language biopic about the Prophet Muhammad—despite an Islamic law that forbids the prophet from actually ever appearing on-screen. Still, the movie has a $150 million budget and is backed by a Qatari media company that put Muslim cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi in charge as its theological consultant, according to the Guardian. At a press conference at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, Sheikh al-Qaradawi said the film was a response to “the crusader-styled distortion of Islam [that] continues to influence [the] world population today,” reported the Gulf Times. Meanwhile, the cleric himself has been banned from Britain over his controversial views, which include reportedly supporting the stoning of homosexuals and pardoning the Holocaust, the London Times reports.

While throughout the world there is much talk of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, the extent of poverty and isolation in Gaza has led some to argue for a three-state plan: one for Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Gaza has one of the world’s highest birth rates and one of its lowest standards of living. Since Hamas, the democratically elected militant group kidnapped an Israeli soldier in June 2006, Gaza’s desperation has only grown. Israeli attacks have killed hundreds and wiped out almost all remaining infrastructure. Egypt does little to help its neighbor. In an article in this week’s New Yorker, Lawrence Wright calls the territory, “a floating island, a dystopian Atlantis, drifting farther away from contact with any other society”—even that of the West Bank.

Bullets are selling faster than factories can make them, The Washington Post reports, noting that a down economy has meant an up year for ammunition sales. Gun owners have purchased 12 billion rounds of ammunition in the last year alone, which is an increase from 7 billion to 10 billion in a normal year. The shooting sales numbers are surprising as crime is down and gun control has increased, but as people hoarded bullets, bullets became scarcer. The rush on rounds, The Post says, indicate a suspicion among gun owners that Washington may make sales more difficult.

A week after declaring that he would help a Republican filibuster of Democrat-sponsored health-care legislation if there were a public option, Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has apparently signaled privately to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) that he will not block a vote. Sources told The Hill that Lieberman has affirmed that he will vote with Democrats to end the debate, and his threat of filibuster is likely a tactic to "get some stuff for himself"—or his constituents, including several major insurance companies based out of Connecticut. Democrats want Lieberman's support because it likely represents the necessary 60th vote that would end debate in the Senate, and many supporters of health-care reform say that he will vote with Democrats when the time comes, despite his statements to the contrary. Says Reid, simply: "I trust Sen. Joe Lieberman."

Warren Buffett's firm, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., made a deal to buy railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. Tuesday, agreeing to purchase the 77.4 percent of the company it doesn't already own at $100 a share. The railroad's stock closed Monday at $76.07 a share but approached $100 in pre-market trading immediately after the deal announcement. The transaction, which would rank as the largest takeover in Berkshire's history, is valued at $44 billion. Buffett, the country’s richest man and one of the most influential market movers, is calling the purchase "an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States."

A male student committed suicide by jumping from a floor of New York University's Bobst Library early Tuesday morning, Gothamist reports. A student emailed the web site, saying, the "kid must have jumped from high judging from where he landed in the lobby. Couldn't tell his condition from what I saw. I was told by a cop on the scene that he didn't look good." NYU’s president John Sexton told the Washington Square News. "I just am learning the details of it, we always mourn when a terrific young person passes. We have to find out how and why, of course, and then work through it,” adding, "the first thing is to take care of the folks." There have been multiple suicide attempts from the library’s balconies in the past.

The Philadelphia Phillies needed a win at home to keep their dreams of a World Series title repeat alive, and they got one from their ace, Cliff Lee, and two homers from Chase Utley. Their 8-6 win over the New York Yankees and A.J. Burnett brought the series to 3-2 and forced Game 6, which will be played Wednesday in the Bronx. A late rally by the Yankees was not enough to even the score, and Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira struck out against Ryan Madsen—Phillies manager Charlie Manuel wisely kept closer Brad Lidge, the previous night's loser, on the bench—to end the game.