The British government is getting behind a plan to replace drafty open-backed hospital gowns with versions that preserve patients' modesty.

The country's Design Council has asked designers and manufacturers to come up with replacements for the gowns, which it said often leave patients feeling exposed.

Link

Poll of Alabama Republicans: Huckabee 33, Palin 23, Romney 12

Since its inception in 1965, Medicare has provided the same basic package of benefits to everyone, regardless of income. On Friday, Mr. Bond called for giving Medicare enrollees a voucher to buy health insurance on their own. "You're going to have to means-test the benefits," he said, adding that upper income retirees wouldn't "get much of a voucher." link

It is not the reminder to "lift American spirits," however, which has me most troubled or even the Tea Partiers who invited her to speak at their conference. Nor does it have anything to do with her left hand, upon which the notes were scribbled. What has me troubled is a black bracelet firmly clasped around her left wrist.

The name on her black memorial bracelet -- one, like the gold star, a demonstration of a friend or associate who was killed in action -- is that of her oldest son, Track. Track served honorably in Iraq, and both he and his parents should be thanked for his selfless service to his country. He is also alive.

Commemorating Track's service by wearing a black memorial bracelet which is reserved for those dead or even a red bracelet for those missing in action, demonstrates a horrifying contempt for those who gave their last full measure of devotion or an almost unbelievable ignorance of the importance of symbols in American history.

NEW YORK (WPIX) - PIX News has learned that federal prosecutors are investigating Governor David Paterson's awarding of a lucrative contract to a politically connected group to run a gaming center at Aqueduct Raceway.

The embattled Governor who appears to have dodged the bullet of rumors and innuendo that had been circulating over a purported "bombshell" story being prepared by the New York Times, is now part of a probe by the Eastern District U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn.

Two reliable sources confirm the investigation is "very fresh," but could not say precisely what it is prosecutors are looking at other than questions about public integrity.

The Republican Party has grown dramatically more competitive in public trust to handle the country's most pressing issues, capitalizing on seething economic discontent and doubt about President Obama's performance to challenge the Democrats in midterm election preferences.

Among registered voters in this ABC News/Washington Post poll, 48 percent say they'd support the Republican candidate in their congressional district if the midterm elections were today, 45 percent the Democrat. That's a rare level of GOP support in nearly three decades of polls.

Click here for a PDF with charts and questionnaire.

Other measures also have tightened sharply since fall. Among all Americans, the Democrats' lead in trust to handle the country's main problems has dwindled to a slim 6 points, 43-37 percent, down from 33 points a record in a generation of polls after Barack Obama's election.

Disapproval of Congress, at 71 percent, matches its highest since 1994, when the GOP swept to control in a midterm rout of the Democrats. Americans by a 20-point margin say they're inclined to look around for someone new to support for Congress. And by a 13-point margin, 48 to 35 percent, Americans call themselves anti-incumbent rather than pro-incumbent not quite the levels in 1994 or 2006 (when the Democrats regained control) but broad nonetheless.

Mary Teske, the general manager of Schubert & Hoey Outdoor Advertising reports, "The Bush Miss Me Yet? billboard was paid for by a group of small business owners who feel like Washington is against them. They wish to remain anonymous.

A new ad campaign launched by former Vice President Al Gore's environmental advocacy group is targeting conservative Democratic senators in the hope of holding on to their support for comprehensive climate change legislation.

The Climate Protection Action Fund's Repower America unveiled new television spots on Wednesday that will run in Indiana and Maine -- to be followed by Arkansas and Missouri -- in which those state's senators are urged to support "clean energy jobs."

Called out by name are Democratic Senators Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO). link