Exchanges in Latest Debate Highlight a New Dynamic in the Republican Field  —  Fred D. Thompson tried to salvage his faltering presidential campaign at a debate Thursday night with a barrage of sharp attacks on the “liberal” policies of Mike Huckabee, the fellow Southerner whom he clearly sees as a rival in the South Carolina primary.

Civil Rights Tone Prompts Talk of an Endorsement  —  WASHINGTON — Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, said he was rethinking his neutral stance in his state's presidential primary out of disappointment at comments by Bill …

Kucinich Seeks NH Dem Vote Recount  —  CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Democrat Dennis Kucinich, who won less than 2 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, said Thursday he wants a recount to ensure that all ballots in his party's contest were counted.  The Ohio congressman cited …

Debate Highlights: Fred takes Huck to the woodshed; Update: Fred on “virgins"; Update: Stalking horse?  —  Who wants some piping hot Fred?  Here he is taking Mike Huckabee to task for his campaign manager suggesting that the Reagan coalition is dead.  Fred then goes on to hammer Huckabee's liberal tendencies.

Let's have some fun in Michigan  —  In 1972, Republican voters in Michigan decided to make a little mischief, crossing over to vote in the open Democratic primary and voting for segregationist Democrat George Wallace, seriously embarrassing the state's Democrats.

Edmund Hillary, first atop Everest, dies  —  WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Sir Edmund Hillary, the unassuming beekeeper who conquered Mount Everest to win renown as one of the 20th century's greatest adventurers, has died, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced Friday.  He was 88.

Ron Paul: ‘No idea’ who wrote racist articles  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A series of newsletters in the name of GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul contain several racist remarks — including one that says order was restored to Los Angeles after the 1992 riots when blacks went “to pick up their welfare checks.”

LAS VEGAS STOP: Clinton pitch hits home  —  Democratic hopeful goes door to door  —  People in the Las Vegas neighborhood saw all the cameras and trucks and buses and police on the streets Thursday, and they began to trickle out of their houses to find out what was going on.

Bringing Obama Back to Earth  —  WASHINGTON — Was it the tears in the New Hampshire coffee shop?  Whenever there is a political upset, everyone looks for the unscripted incident, the I-paid-for-this-microphone moment that can account for it.  Hillary Clinton's improbable victory in New Hampshire …

The Comeback Continent  —  Today I'd like to talk about a much-derided contender making a surprising comeback, a comeback that calls into question much of the conventional wisdom of American politics.  No, I'm not talking about a politician.  I'm talking about an economy — specifically …

Strict immigration law rattles Okla. businesses  —  PARK HILL, Okla. — Autumn had arrived in eastern Oklahoma, and workers at the sprawling Greenleaf Nursery were prepping for deadly frosts.  They needed to ship plants, erect greenhouses and bunch trees together to protect them against the cold.

Clinton to Seek Package to Lift Confidence in Economy  —  WASHINGTON — Adjusting her campaign to address increased fears of a recession, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that she would call for quick enactment of a $70 billion emergency spending package and for a possible $40 …

Huckabee's Tax Plan Is Brilliant  —  SO WHY IS IT GETTING TRASHED?  —  Mike Huckabee is not my favorite candidate, though I relish the irony of an evolution-denier whose basic appeal is to voters' most apelike instincts.  But I do give him credit for one thing: an innovative tax plan that's …