The Long Run-Up  —  Behind the Bombshell in ‘The New York Times.’  —  RELATED CONTENT  —  'Charlie's Horse,' by S.V. Date (2/6/08)  —  Last night, around dinnertime, The New York Times posted on its website a 3,000-word investigation detailing Senator John McCain's connections to a telecommunications lobbyist named Vicki Iseman.

The CNN Democratic presidential debate in Texas  —  This is the transcript of the debate between Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on February 21, 2008 at the University of Texas in Austin.  —  CNN's CAMPBELL BROWN: And the candidates have taken their seats.

Clinton Has Edge in Ohio; Race in Texas Deadlocked  —  AUSTIN, Feb. 21 — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, facing a pair of big Democratic primary tests on March 4 that could determine the fate of her presidential candidacy, is deadlocked with Sen. Barack Obama here in Texas and holds a slender lead …

An echo from Hillary  —  Several readers, and Obama's staff, heard an echo in Clinton's closing line, that the candidates on stage would be “fine.”  —  Clinton Tonight: ? … Edwards the December 13 debate: … Some borrowing is fairly normal.  What's been striking about the two Obama moments is that they were almost verbatim.

Police concerned about order to stop screening  —  DALLAS — Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.

Consultant spending saps Clinton campaign  —  Hillary Rodham Clinton started the year flush with cash, but by the beginning of this month, she'd blazed through most of it — spending $11 million on ads, $3.8 million on messaging guru Mark Penn and $1,300 at Dunkin' Donuts …

Gallup Daily: Tracking Election 2008  —  Based on polling conducted Feb. 18-20, 2008  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are now tied in national Democratic presidential preferences, based on Feb. 18-20 Gallup Poll Daily tracking.  —  The latest three-day average finds Clinton favored …

Rescues for Homeowners in Debt Weighed  —  WASHINGTON — Prodded in part by some of the nation's biggest banks, the Bush administration and Congress are considering costly new proposals for the government to rescue hundreds of thousands of homeowners whose mortgages are higher than the value of their houses.

Utah students hide guns, head to class  —  CNNU campus correspondent Joshua Molina is a senior at Brigham Young University.  CNNU is a feature that provides student perspectives on news and trends from colleges across the United States.  The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of CNN …