5th U.S. Congressional District Special Election  —  Massachusetts Fifth U.S. Congressional District  —  Precincts Reporting - 96 out of 195 - 49%  —  Should You Get A Home Equity Loan?  —  Thinking of remodeling your home or paying off some debt?  LendingTree has expert articles …

Support Wanes in House for Genocide Vote  —  Worried about antagonizing Turkish leaders, House members from both parties have begun to withdraw their support from a resolution supported by the Democratic leadership that would condemn as genocide the mass killings of Armenians nearly a century ago.

CHENEY AND OBAMA COUSINS?  —  From NBC's Adam Verdugo  —  In an interview with MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell this afternoon, Lynne Cheney revealed that while researching the Cheney family tree for her new book "Blue Skies, No Fences," she discovered that the Vice President Cheney and Barack Obama are related — albeit distantly.

Mugged by Unreality  —  MANHATTAN — So perhaps Jon Elliott wasn't exactly cool as a cucumber when he took to the airwaves early Tuesday to announce fellow Air America host Randi Rhodes had lost several teeth in an cold-blooded assault while walking her dog on the streets of New York City.

Poll: As Thompson's star fades, Clinton's on the rise  —  CNN Senior Political Analyst  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Fred Thompson got into the Republican race with great expectations.  And sure enough, just after he got in last month, polling showed Thompson and Rudy Giuliani were just about tied for front-runner.

N.H. inches toward December primary  —  Notice to all national political reporters, campaign operatives and presidential candidates: You may not be home for the holidays.  —  Until recently, I did not think that any state actually would hold its 2008 primary as early as this December.

Sarah Maria Santorum's tears inspire song  —  This is the story of a defeated senator, his crying daughter, a Nashville songwriter and Martina McBride, the country music star.  —  It begins in Pittsburgh on election night 2006.  Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), losing to Democrat Robert P. Casey Jr …

Carville: Jeb Bush will be GOP nominee  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — Democratic strategist and CNN analyst James Carville tossed out a provocative idea during a panel discussion on politics Tuesday.  —  At CNN's America Votes 2008 Breakfast, the chief architect of Bill Clinton's successful 1992 …

Lifers as Teenagers, Now Seeking Second Chance  —  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In December, the United Nations took up a resolution calling for the abolition of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for children and young teenagers.  The vote was 185 to 1, with the United States the lone dissenter.

Africans are less intelligent than Westerners, says DNA pioneer  —  Fury at James Watson's theory: "All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really"  —  One of the world's most eminent scientists was embroiled …

Hacked Ann Coulter site: my career was a prank!  —  Ann Coulter's web site was apparently hacked Monday night.  In place of a column about Republican politics was "An Open Letter to Readers" announcing that her entire career had been a practical joke.  —  Radar magazine's site spotted …

Food Companies Face U.S. Probe Over Iraq Deals  —  WASHINGTON — Prominent American food companies are under scrutiny in a federal probe of possible fraud and corruption in the military's food-supply operations for the Iraq war.  —  Investigators from the Justice Department and the Defense Department …

Democrats keep pressure on GOPSCHIP opponents  —  Emboldened by new polling data, Democrats will press on in criticizing Republicans who support President Bush's veto of a bill to expand a children's health insurance program.  —  Some centrist Republicans could pay a political price for voting …