The Wright Stuff  —  I spoke on the phone Sunday with Sarah Palin, who was in Long Beach, Calif., preparing to take off on her next campaign trip.  It was the first time I'd talked with her since I met her in far more relaxed circumstances in Alaska over a year ago.

McCain: I'm Not Raising Taxes.  I'm Cutting Medicare!  —  Barack Obama says John McCain would raise people's taxes by changing the way the IRS looks at health insurance.  McCain says he wouldn't.  —  Who's right?  —  Quite possibly McCain.  But only because he's decided to slash Medicare and Medicaid instead.

Mishaps mark John McCain's record as naval aviator  —  Three crashes early in his career led Navy officials to question or fault his judgment.  —  John McCain was training in his AD-6 Skyraider on an overcast Texas morning in 1960 when he slammed into Corpus Christi Bay and sheared the skin off his plane's wings.

Dow plunges below 10,000; lowest level since 2004  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street tumbled Monday, joining a selloff around the world, as fears grew that the financial crisis will cascade through economies globally despite bailout efforts by the U.S. and other governments.

Ex-officials misled by pro-Obama video  —  A video released by the Jewish Council for Education & Research which appeared to show several retired senior IDF and Mossad officials supporting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has proven to be misleading, with a number of officials …

Biden's Fantasy World  —  Sarah Palin may not know as much about the world, but at least most of what she knows is true.  —  In the popular media wisdom, Sarah Palin is the neophyte who knows nothing about foreign policy while Joe Biden is the savvy diplomatic pro.

Lieberman: Palin Will Win “With God's Help”  —  Via CNN streaming video, I watched Sarah Palin's event in Clearwater, Florida, this morning.  She was heartily introduced there by John McCain's pal Joe Lieberman.  The former Democrat is a very strange figure these days, far from his moorings in the Democratic Party.

Sources: Taliban split with al Qaeda, seek peace  —  LONDON, England (CNN) — Taliban leaders are holding Saudi-brokered talks with the Afghan government to end the country's bloody conflict — and are severing their ties with al Qaeda, sources close to the historic discussions have told CNN.

Candidates Prepare for Tuesday's Town Hall Debate  —  In one of the most beautiful spots on the globe, Sen. John McCain spent much of Saturday holed up in a dark hotel conference room, engaged in intense debate preparation.  At the end of it, the GOP nominee told his aides that was crazy …

Annette Bening defends Sarah Palin  —  Actress Annette Bening has become the latest celebrity to join the debate over US vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin - insisting the politician “deserves our respect”.  —  The Republican has come under fire from a host of stars …

Rock the early vote  —  Franklin County voters flock to vote even before Bruce Springsteen's event  —  When the astronaut made way for the Boss on the Oval, 10,000 people roared in unison, “Bruuuuce!”  —  “You don't get introduced by John Glenn every day,” Bruce Springsteen said, breaking into an impromptu version of Mr. Spaceman.