With Thompson Out, Who Benefits Most?  —  The decision by former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson to end his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination removes a conservative voice from the field even as the remaining Republican candidates crisscross Florida in search of votes in advance of the state's Jan. 29 primary.

Thompson Decides To Drop Out  —  Ex-Sen. Fred Thompson has told several Republicans that he has decided to drop out of the presidential race and will make public his intentions by close of business.  —  Thompson does not plan to endorse any rivals for now, even though one of his best friends is Sen. John McCain.

Now it can be told- The Thompson story  —  Back in March of 07 at the CPAC convention in DC several former Fred Thompson Congressional staffers told me Fred Thompson was thinking about a run.  Some of his Tennessee cronies had been talking him up too.  —  I reported first that he was eyeing a White House bid.

Actor Heath Ledger dies at 28  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — Actor Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday of a possible drug overdose in a Lower Manhattan apartment, the New York Police Department said.  —  The Academy Award nominated actor was 28.  —  “Pills were found in the vicinity of the bed,” police spokesman Paul Browne told CNN.

Clinton's Key Strength  —  Kevin Drum thinks Americans simply don't want to move on: … This is the relevant issue, I think.  I wrote: … My own view is that America's crisis is a very deep one.  The markets are reflecting the fact that seven years of Bush have added $32 trillion to future debt …