The public option is dead — even though some papers report the weasel words senators are using to hide this fact. And the Washington Post has the most hypocritical front page in recent memory.

The blasts yesterday in Baghdad get wide coverage too — and will probably serve as a reminder that there's another war to be reported on. The Washington Post manages to mock itself for running Sarah Palin's global-warming denying op-ed by also running a front page story about idiots who deny global warming in the face of overwhelming evidence. Maybe it's some kind of sophisticated satire. Or maybe the news editor and op-ed editors hate each other.

Other enjoyable or noteworthy reading includes:

  • The New York Times finds a secret mosque yards from ground zero — the Muslims therein are lucky the New York Post didn't get hold of the story first.
  • The Daily News has one of those great sexy teacher romp stories, but this time featuring two hot lesbians.
  • And the Wall Street Journal laments the death of the beer can collection.

Disclosure: I freelance write and report for newspapers that are included in this roundup. Where there is a direct conflict of interest I will make it clear.

The New York Times: reports that Senate leader Harry Reid says a compromise on the healthcare bill would "sideline but not kill" the public option and that the government has settled a class action lawsuit with American Indians. There's a faintly ridiculous piece on the cost of measures to tackle climate change, and a faintly obvious one about how incriminating text messages can be when you're cheating. The paper pull out another great local story to follow yesterday's — about Muslims who pray near ground zero. And a great piece on the Mexican drug wars that spill over into the US.

The Washington Post: is beyond audacious today. They lead with a story about how even in the face of strong evidence Australian farmers will not buy into global warming. Further down the page they plug an op-ed by thundering idiot Sarah Palin denying global warming. They run a story about improvements in math scores for local children — perhaps they'd have been better off examining the state of science. The news that the public option will probably die is here too, as is the story from earlier in the week that the TSA revealed security secrets. And another student has gone into class with a gun and tried to shoot people.

The LA Times: leads with the Baghdad blasts yesterday, and the impending death of the public option. There is the now-traditional look at some aspect of marijuana in Los Angeles and a piece about people waiting for their unemployment checks. The county has managed to get the LA opera money in time to save it though. And there's a look at life in a Jewish neighborhoodJewish neighborhood through the years.

The Wall Street Journal: also has the news that the public option, no matter what spineless senators say, is dead. They report that national debt means the recovery is fragile, and the government is helping Boeing out as a result. But more seriously: no-one is collecting beer cans any more.

The New York Post: gives us another example of Tiger Woods' lack of subtlety — he paid one of his mistresses. Incidentally, she then got lipo with the money.

The Daily News: everyone loves those teacher sex stories. This time it's hot lesbians!

The Star-Bulletin (Honolulu): waves were big enough for the first time in five years to hold the In Honor Of Eddie Aikau competition in Hawaii. And the editors of the Star-Bulletin know a good picture when they see one.

The News Tribune: while the rest of us have pretty much forgotten about the four police officers shot in Washington — or are preoccupied with Mike Huckabee's role in the crime — a sobering reminder from this Washington paper that people actually died.