Headlines

• Hurricane Ike's come and gone, leaving devastation on the Gulf Coast and a couple of thousand evacuee-guests still in Austin. At press time, Galveston's still closed to citizens and reporters.

• No City Council today (Thursday), leaving council members free to imagine life at the top of the ticket: see "City Hall Hustle."

• Talk about ballot access: On Sept. 16, the Liber-tarian Party of Texas filed suit demanding Barack Obama and John McCain be kicked out of the presidential election in Texas for missing the filing deadline. Good luck. See On the Campaign Trail for more.

• Fall starts Monday, Sept. 22, at 10:44am Central Standard Time, with the autumnal equinox. Ready pagan rites accordingly.

• The national economic crisis deepened as Lehman Brothers went begging and the feds assumed control of American International Group in an $85 billion bailout. But "the fundamentals" are strong!

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Quote of the Week

"I invite the media to grow a pair, and if you can't, I will lend you mine."

– Amy Poehler, playing Hillary Clinton to Tina Fey's Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live's season opener