'06 ELEX: BACK TO TOSS-UP  —  The latest polls show something very strange and quite encouraging is happening: The Republican base seems to be coming back home.  This trend, only vaguely and dimly emerging from a variety of polls, suggests that a trend may be afoot that would deny the Democrats control of the House and the Senate.

Trying to Contain the Iraq Disaster  —  No matter what President Bush says, the question is not whether America can win in Iraq.  The only question is whether the United States can extricate itself without leaving behind an unending civil war that will spread more chaos and suffering throughout …

General May Increase U.S. Troop Levels in Baghdad  —  America's top general in Iraq said he was considering sending more troops to help quell the violence in Baghdad, as he and the United States ambassador laid out a timetable for progress that they said has been agreed to by the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Ford camp's answers vary on Playboy party  —  The way Republicans like to tell it, Harold Ford Jr. partied with Playboy playmates at a Super Bowl Party last year.  —  So, was he there or not?  —  Responses from the Memphis Democrat and his campaign have varied:

Debate gets personal  —  Sunday's acrimonious debate between candidates for Wyoming's lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives reportedly got quite personal away from the podiums as incumbent Barbara Cubin allegedly threatened to slap Libertarian challenger Thomas Rankin.

Some Voting Machines Chop Off Candidates' Names  —  Computer Glitch Affects Voters in 3 Jurisdictions; Error Cannot Be Fixed by Nov. 7  —  U.S. Senate candidate James Webb's last name has been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville …

Cash Lieberman Spent In Primary Draws Complaint  —  Ned Lamont's campaign filed an elections complaint Monday that says Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman failed to properly account for nearly $400,000 in cash during the last days of the Democratic primary.  —  Lamont's campaign asked …

Bush's new tack steers clear of 'stay the course'  —  Phrase became liability for GOP in election year … Today show  —  President Bush and his aides are annoyed that people keep misinterpreting his Iraq policy as "stay the course."  A complete distortion, they say.

Obama Offers More Variations From the Norm  —  Senator Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat who said Sunday that he was considering running for president in 2008, created a little sunlight on Monday between himself and both Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton.  —  For one thing, he said that as a youth he had inhaled.

Three Choices, Mr. President  —  The Least Bad Option on Iraq: Disengagement and Damage Control  —  Dear Mr. President:  —  As soon as the midterm elections are over — and regardless of their outcome — you will have to make the most consequential decision of your presidency …

Elections could be most costly in US history  —  Next month's midterm elections will be the most costly congressional races in US history, with business interests contributing three-quarters of the estimated $2.6bn that will be spent, says a non-partisan research group.

Self-Defense: CNN Asks Rep. Hunter If People Have the 'Right to Know What War is Like'  —  Feeling the heat from critics in Washington and across the country over airing video handed to it by an Iraqi terrorist group called the Islamic Army of God, CNN offered air time to Congressman Duncan Hunter …

Seats in Danger, Democrats Proclaim Their Conservatism  —  Listening to Congressional candidates in middle Georgia, it is easy for someone to think that he is in a different year and, possibly, a different country.  —  Democrats defend themselves against accusations that they are rubber stamps for their party's leadership.

Remember Global Cooling?  —  Why scientists find climate change so hard to predict.  —  Hot and Cold: Signs of global warming at a dried-up pond in China in August 2006 (left) and a 1975 NEWSWEEK report on the threat of global cooling.  —  In April, 1975, in an issue mostly taken …

U.S. Rank on Press Freedom Slides Lower  —  Some poor countries, such as Mauritania and Haiti, improved their record in a global press freedom index this year, while France, the United States and Japan slipped further down the scale of 168 countries rated, the group Reporters Without Borders said yesterday.

Conyers Hones A Case Against President Bush  —  WASHINGTON — The Democratic leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is promising that her party has no plans to pursue impeachment of President Bush if it wins a majority in next month's elections.  But she intends to allow the House Judiciary Committee …

Men who use mobile phones face increased risk of infertility  —  Men who use mobile phones could be risking their fertility, warn researchers.  —  A new study shows a worrying link between poor sperm and the number of hours a day that a man uses his mobile phone.

Bleak House  —  Republicans deserve to lose, but what happens if Democrats win?  —  Two weeks from tonight America is going to be different—first politically and then substantively—for Democrats will likely take control of the House, and move public policy in very liberal directions.

This Time, It's Not the Economy  —  In many ways, the economy has not looked so good in a long time.  —  The price of gas at the pump has tumbled since midsummer.  Unemployment has fallen to its lowest level in more than five years.  On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average …