Official documents obtained by a Japanese newspaper confirm that Kim Jong Il's third son, Kim Jong Un, will succeed his father as the next leader of North Korea. The three documents reveal that Pyongyang is hastily preparing for a transfer of power, and credit Kim Jong Un with participation in an April satellite launch.

One document, titled "Educational Resources on the Greatness of our Revered General Kim Jong Un," appears to be a briefing on the new leader for high-ranging members of North Korea's defense ministry and secret police. Hailing him as a "vengeful commander," the document triumphantly recounts Kim Jong Un's accomplishments and lays out the importance of succession.

"Anyone who meets him [Kim Jong Un] is fascinated by him," the text says. It further praises him "a military talent who has genius wisdom and policy" and notes that he "resembles our great general [Kim Jong Il] so much in appearance."

Abducted New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell was rescued in northern Afghanistan in a raid that killed his Afghan interpreter and a British commando early Wednesday morning. Gunmen had seized Farrell and his interpreter, Sultan Munadi, on Saturday while they were reporting on the aftermath of a deadly NATO airstrike near Kunduz. The Times said it had kept the kidnapping quiet "out of concern for the men's safety."

The rescue operation was a British-planned mission, as Farrell holds dual Irish-British citizenship, and was carried out with the support of U.S. forces. When "British nationals are kidnapped, we and our allies will do everything in our power to free them," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a statement. Farrell said that he and Munadi heard an approaching helicopter, then gunfire. Munadi ran forward screaming, "Journalist!" but was cut down by a hail of bullets from Taliban gunmen. Farrell dove into a ditch until he recognized British voices, and called out that he was a British hostage.

Farrell has been reporting for the Times' Baghdad bureau since 2007, and has a strong reputation among the people of Afghanistan. Munadi had worked regularly with the Times and other news organizations, and was studying for a public policy degree in Germany. He planned to combat illiteracy in Afghanistan by working in public education.

For details: Times Reporter Is Freed in Afghan Raid That Kills Aide [New York Times]

After much speculation over whether President Obama will make a public insurance option a priority in his plan for health care reform, White House officials say he will in fact press for such an option in his address to Congress tonight. Aides close to the speech preparations say Obama will also likely make strong assurances that the public option would not provide such a level of subsidy that it would have an unfair advantage over private insurers.

Much of the controversy over health care reform has centered on this issue, with insurers saying a public option will drive them out of business, Republicans saying they won't support a plan that includes it, and liberal Democrats saying they won't support a plan without it. Administration officials have repeatedly said the public option is an expendable part of their agenda, and say the president will announce that he is open to better ideas if lawmakers have them.

For details: Obama to Endorse Public Plan in Speech [Wall Street Journal]

Despite a contentious August recess and the widely held perception that health care reform is hanging by a thread, legislation continues to move forward and has a strong chance of making it through Congress. In a news analysis published Wednesday, the New York Times notes that the "uproar does not seem to have greatly altered public opinion or substantially weakened Democrats' resolve." While Americans have shown themselves to be extremely uneasy with changing the health care system, most still believe it needs a major restructuring.

Prospects for reform legislation look good in both houses of Congress. Democrats have reached broad agreement on what the package should look like, and four of the five House committees considering the issue have already passed bills. The Senate poses a more formidable challenge, but the bill's prospects for passage are improving there, as well: Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a wavering Democrat, said over the weekend he would probably support the bill, and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) remains deeply involved in negotiations. There are indications that at least two other Republican votes are in play, which would put the Democrats over the 60-vote mark they need to pass the legislation without being delayed by filibuster.

For details: Despite Fears, Health Care Overhaul Is Moving Ahead [New York Times]

Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, who has faced criticism over a 20-year-old thesis that described working women as "detrimental" to society, is now facing scrutiny for his strong views on homosexuality. In the controversial thesis, McDonnell included homosexuality as one symptom of moral decline that government should "punish." He also participated in a 2003 hearing that left many with the impression that a Virginia circuit court judge was thrown off the bench because of her sexual orientation.

In the seven-hour hearing that the Washington Post calls "extraordinary," Virginia lawmakers grilled Verbena M. Askew, the state's first black female circuit court judge, whose reappointment was in jeopardy because she was accused of sexually harassing a female colleague. Before the hearing, McDonnell told a newspaper that "certain homosexual conduct" could disqualify a person from the bench, because it violates Virginia's "crimes against nature" law. He qualified his stance, saying he would not consider a judge unfit to serve because he or she was gay, but made clear he believed that some of their actions could violate the law.

McDonnell now says that the hearing and his previous comments have nothing to do with his current race for governor, though he did say the quotations were inaccurate and "inartful." The reporter who interviewed him remembers asking if he had ever violated the so-called "crimes against nature" law, which prohibits oral or anal sex. McDonnell responded, "Not that I recall."

For details: Scrutiny Spreads to '03 McDonnell Remarks [Washington Post]

Steve Hildebrand, who oversaw field operations for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and shaped crucial early victories over Hillary Clinton, said Tuesday he is "losing patience" with the Obama administration. Hildebrand remains close with many top Obama aides, and is so far the highest-profile "inside" critic to speak strongly against the president.

"I am one of the millions of frustrated Americans who want to see Washington do more than it's doing right now," Hildebrand told Politico. Speaking of the administration and the Democratic leadership as a whole, he said, "I'm not going to just sit by the curb and let these folks get away with a lack of performance for the American people."

Hildebrand sometimes clashed with other campaign officials over strategy and what they perceived as his tendency to speak too candidly with reporters rather than stay tightly on message. He first voiced his unrest in an Aug. 22 speech to a gay organization in San Diego, but it escaped notice except in the gay press.

"I gave up a lot to elect Democrats, and I expect them to give it up for me. I'm going to speak loudly," Hildebrand said.

For details: Advisor Losing Patience with Obama [Politico]

There is at least one person in New York who wouldn't be happy with an Eliot Spitzer comeback: "Manhattan Madam" Kristin Davis, who now says that she will run against Spitzer if he attempts to return to politics. Davis once ran what she describes as "New York City's most successful prostitution ring," which supplied Spitzer with escorts and sex partners before his exposure and resignation as New York governor in 2008.

Now, Davis is keeping close tabs on his much-discussed search for political rebirth.

"Eliot Spitzer has the bug," Davis wrote on her Web site. "For the second time in six months he has been caught planning a come-back. First, he floated a trial balloon for his old job as Attorney General. . . . Now he is contemplating a run for the US Senate or New York State Comptroller." She was referring to rumors that Spitzer is testing the waters for a comeback, all of which he has firmly denied. Since leaving office, he has written for Slate and begun teaching an undergraduate class on law at the City University of New York.

Davis said she hoped to use any future political campaigns as an opportunity to air more sordid details about Spitzer's liaisons with prostitutes. "I may have to run myself to focus attention on the multiple illegal acts for which he has not been punished, his abuse of women and the sexism in the way he walked away scot free while I went to Rikers [Island] for four months," she warned. "There is far more to tell about Eliot Spitzer, the ladies and the way he treated them."

A NATO airstrike in Afghanistan last week killed at least 100 people and sparked a flurry of outrage in Germany after it was reported that German military officials ordered the attack. German soldiers are normally restricted to peacekeeping duties. Their role in the deadly bombing shook their country's presidential campaign and prompted lawmakers to pressure Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung for an explanation. Aides to Chancellor Angela Merkel say she will address the German parliament on Tuesday.

"U.S. and NATO officials said the German decision to order the bombing was based on reports from a single Afghan informant and sketchy video surveillance, a possible violation of new NATO rules limiting the use of airstrikes," the Washington Post reported Tuesday. German prosecutors are considering opening a homicide investigation into the order, which sent a U.S. fighter jet to blow up two hijacked fuel trucks.

For details: In Germany, Political Turmoil Over Ordering of Airstrike [Washington Post]

In an interview with CNN, former first lady Laura Bush praised President Obama, saying he is "doing a good job" despite having "a lot on his plate." She also commended Michelle Obama for making the White House into a comfortable home for her family, and defended the president's decision to speak to students returning to school this week. It's "really important for everyone to respect the president of the United States," Bush said during the interview in Paris, where she is promoting global literacy. "I think there is a place for the president . . . to talk to schoolchildren."

Bush did not completely dismiss conservative concerns about the speech, but said it was unfair to call Obama a socialist, and lamented the deeply divided state of American politics. She conceded that her husband found it more difficult to be a "uniter" as president than he did as governor. "He was disappointed that that was not the way it worked out in Washington," she said. "I'm sure President Obama didn't expect it to be that way [either]. All of us need to do what we can to come together on issues."

For details: Laura Bush Praises Obama Family [AOL News]

Afghanistan's Election Complaints Commission has ordered a partial recount of the country's Aug. 20 presidential vote, saying it has found "clear and convincing evidence" of fraud. The commission, which is backed by the United Nations, has been investigating hundreds of fraud complaints, selected out of a growing collection that numbers in the thousands. A senior U.N. envoy had already called for a crackdown on "irregularities."

The Afghanistan election, which seems to have favored incumbent President Hamid Karzai, has been plagued by ethics complaints for weeks now. A teacher in Kabul assigned to run a polling station arrived to find ballot boxes already full, and was carted away by security forces when he took issue with the flagrant ballot-stuffing. Voter turnout was particularly low in areas where the Taliban is most powerful, and the overall turnout of women was lower than usual. Fraud complaints soared to 2,000 within a week of the late-August vote.

Kai Eide, the U.N. special representative for Afghanistan, called for the recount in a written statement early Tuesday. The ECC said there should be a recount at any polling station where one candidate received 95 percent of the vote or more.

For details: Recounts Ordered in Afghan Vote [BBC News]