Obama to travel to see ill grandmother  —  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Barack Obama will leave the campaign trail Thursday to travel to Hawaii to see his 86-year-old grandmother, who has fallen ill, spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday.  —  “In the last few weeks her health has deteriorated …

Obama Appeal Rises in Poll; No Gains for McCain Ticket  —  As voters have gotten to know Senator Barack Obama, they have warmed up to him, with more than half, 53 percent, now saying they have a favorable impression of him and 33 percent saying they have an unfavorable view.

What Biden Implied  —  John McCain took note Monday of Joe Biden's remarks the day before at a Seattle fundraiser (where Biden apparently didn't realize at first there were media present).  But there's more McCain could say.  —  Here's McCain, in Belton, Missouri:

Obama Talks Nonsense on Tax Cuts  —  Revenues will inevitably be diverted from Social Security.  —  Now we know: 95% of Americans will get a “tax cut” under Barack Obama after all.  Those on the receiving end of a check will include the estimated 44% of Americans who will owe no federal income taxes under his plan.

McCain camp looking for way to win without Colorado  —  (CNN) — The McCain campaign is looking at an Electoral College strategy heading into the final two weeks that has virtually no room for error and depends heavily on a dramatic comeback in Pennsylvania, which hasn't backed a Republican for president in 20 years.

FIRST COLIN POWELL, NOW...  Ken Adelman is a lifelong conservative Republican.  Campaigned for Goldwater, was hired by Rumsfeld at the Office of Economic Opportunity under Nixon, was assistant to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld under Ford, served as Reagan's director of arms control …

‘Anti-American’ comments hurt Minn. rep's campaign  —  ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann spent months building her profile through appearances on “Larry King Live” and other TV talk shows.  It took only a few minutes of airtime, and one disparaging remark about Barack Obama, to undo it.

Murtha Calls Western Pa. ‘Redneck’  —  Congressman Says Western Pa. Was ‘Really Redneck’  —  CHARLEROI, Pa. — U.S. Rep. John Murtha is calling many of the people who put him in office “rednecks.”  —  The news comes one week after Murtha claimed the area is racist, then apologized for that comment.

Wave Watch: Smith's political minefield  —  Rep. Christopher Smith, a Republican who has represented central New Jersey since 1980, probably didn't realize he was walking into a political minefield when his family requested a break on his daughter's huge college bill.

Majority of States Now in Recession  —  In March, 5 States Were in Recession; Now There are 27 With 14 More at Risk  —  ABC NEWS Business Unit  —  What started out as a housing problem in a few states has now exploded into a full-fledged recession with a majority of states now in or dangerously close to recession.

Video: Barney Frank wants more taxes  —  Suddenly, with Barack Obama pitching almost a trillion dollars in new spending, leading Democrats see nothing wrong with deficit spending.  Why?  Because the rich will pay for it, silly!  Barney Frank explains that spending tons of money …

Appeals Court Halts Release of 17 Guantanamo Detainees  —  A federal appeals court Monday blocked the release of 17 Chinese Muslims into the United States from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, until it can hear further legal arguments in the case.

McCain lands at Columbia Regional Airport  —  Sen. John McCain stopped in Columbia on Monday afternoon.  —  The Republican presidential nominee from Arizona landed at the Columbia Regional Airport around 12:30 p.m. As McCain disembarked from the plane, a man yelled, “Go get 'em, John.”

Senator Dodd's Notion of Courtesy  —  After reports emerged in June about him having received favorable treatment on two home mortgages from the Countrywide Financial Corporation, Senator Christopher Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, promised that he would release documents to support …

Iceland agrees $6bn deal with IMF  —  Helen Power and Hildur Helga Sigurdardottir in Reykjavik  —  The credit crunch claimed its first sovereign scalp last night as Iceland readied itself to accept an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.  The North Atlantic nation is believed …

Buh-Bye And Smoke Up  —  A hedge-funder who got an 870 percent gain last year quits and writes a memorable farewell letter: … He urges throwing away your blackberry and getting stoned.  The full, somewhat brazen, and thoroughly enjoyable screed is after the jump.  He's right about marijuana, of course:

Bush Decides to Keep Guantánamo Open  —  WASHINGTON — Despite his stated desire to close the American prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, President Bush has decided not to do so, and never considered proposals drafted in the State Department and the Pentagon that outlined options …

Palin on SNL: What Did You Expect?  —  In 1998, I attended the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington.  A friend who is a lobbyist there escorted me to a weekend's worth of events.  As we moved around a brunch reception one late morning, I turned and suddenly faced Henry Kissinger.