Poll: It's all tied up for Dems in Texas  —  CNN Deputy Political Director  —  (CNN) — Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in a statistical dead heat in Texas, according to a poll released eight days before the state's crucial presidential primary.

CLINTON STAFFERS CIRCULATE ‘DRESSED’ OBAMA  —  With a week to go until the Texas and Ohio primaries, stressed Clinton staffers circulated a photo over the weekend of a “dressed” Barack Obama.  —  The photo, taken in 2006, shows the Democrat frontrunner fitted as a Somali Elder …

In-Laws' Political Dispute Ends In Stabbing  —  UPPER PROVIDENCE, Pa. (CBS 3) ― The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office is investigating a politically motivated stabbing that left one in-law hospitalized and another in prison.  —  Authorities said brother-in-laws Jose Ortiz …

Obama responds to CNN's smear: Join In against ‘right wing hack attacks’  —  Obama responds to the new smear campaign against him quite deftly.  CNN and the AP should be ashamed of themselves.  I didn't know lapel pins were so important to national security.

Commentary - Melanie Scarborough: Obama on Obama is scary truth  —  WASHINGTON (Map, News) - One can only hope that the majority of Barack Obama's supporters are not as inane as actress Susan Sarandon, who announced last week that she supports Obama for president and “can't wait to see what he stands for.”

McCain Withheld Controversial Abramoff Email  —  On the stump, Sen. John McCain often cites his work tackling the excesses of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff as evidence of his sturdy ethical compass.  —  A little-known document, however, shows that McCain may have taken steps to protect …

Forget global warming: Welcome to the new Ice Age  —  Snow cover over North America and much of Siberia, Mongolia and China is greater than at any time since 1966.  —  The U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) reported that many American cities and towns suffered record cold temperatures in January and early February.

Coupe Deval  —  The unhappy first year in office of Barack Obama's friend and oratorical model.  —  Boston  —  Early last week, the presidential campaign was rocked by the “bombshell” that Barack Obama had borrowed certain rhetorical flourishes from Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick's 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

An early look at how Clinton deals with crisis  —  In a presidential campaign focused on the future, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama spend a lot of time talking about their pasts.  —  Both lean heavily on tales of early, formative experiences - she running a law clinic in Arkansas …

Lieberman Offers Helping Hand to Democrats...Again  —  Republican attack ads pressuring House Democrats to capitulate on telecom immunity started running in Connecticut against Chris Murphy and Joe Courtney this week.  They're funded by an organization called the Foundation for Defense of Democracies …

Obama's women reveal his secret  —  “Cherchez la femme,” advised Alexander Dumas in: “When you want to uncover an unspecified secret, look for the woman.”  In the case of Barack Obama, we have two: his late mother, the went-native anthropologist Ann Dunham, and his rancorous wife Michelle.