National: GATES-TIMES -- WASHINGTON -- In the face of declining public support for the military campaign in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates offers strong backing for the war effort and says he is open to a further increase in the size of the U.S. force. 930 words, by Julian E. Barnes (Times). With GATES-POST. ARMS-DEALER -- WASHINGTON -- Jacques Monsieur, a swashbuckling 56-year-old known as the 'The Fox' and the 'Field Marshal,' becomes the latest in a string of arms merchants to fall victim to a global undercover operation engineered by U.S. agents. 860 words, by Sebastian Rotella (Times). International: MEXICO-TIMES -- MEXICO CITY -- The slaying of 18 people at a drug-treatment center is a further sign of the chaos enveloping Ciudad Juarez and a reminder of another tragic development that has accompanied the flow of cocaine and other drugs through Mexico: a big and growing problem of local drug addiction. 1,090 words, by Ken Ellingwood (Times). Health and Science: HEALTH-ANALYSIS -- WINDSOR, Colo. -- A town-hall meeting in this Colorado community highlights why the health-care debate has become the most divisive domestic issue since Vietnam. 1,040 words, by Dan Balz (Post). With HEALTH, HEALTH-PROTEST and DEM-SCENE. HEALTH-LACROSSE -- LA CROSSE, Wis. -- The controversy over end-of-life provisions in health-care legislation has had most resonance where it arguably took root, in this town of 52,000 where nearly everyone of a certain age has an advance-care directive. 1,630 words, by Alec MacGillis (Post). HEALTH-CORKER -- LOUDON, Tenn. -- Although heated rhetoric over a potential government takeover of health care has been a staple of the hundreds of town meetings lawmakers held this summer, many Republicans say they heard a second message back home: No matter how flawed the plans being pushed by Democrats, the status quo is not a popular alternative. 1,630 words, by Shailagh Murray (Post). Commentaries and news features are listed on the NEWSFEATURES-LAT-WP budget that moves daily at noon EST. 