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National numbers released Tuesday evening show: Obama 50, McCain 46 Comes after Sept. 22 poll found Obama 52, McCain 43.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to CNN to talk about bailout politics. When I arrived, I was surprised to learn from the other two panelists--CNN's Gloria Borger and the Washington Post's Dana Milbank--that a deal on an amended version of the Treasury Department's $700 billion bailout plan was close. I was surprised because I had been hearing the opposite--that House Republicans were increasingly opposed to a deal and that such a deal seemed less likely yesterday than it was when the plan was originally proposed. But others, including the Associated Press, were reporting that a deal was imminent.

Right now on Drudge there is a photo of McCain and Palin above the link, "Palin, McCain to spend more time together than apart..." Is it just me, or does the photo look incredibly fake? The photo in question:

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2008 – The top U.S. general in the Pacific told Congress yesterday that he’s working to strengthen the U.S.-Sino relationship, but he emphasized the need to keep a close eye on China as it strives to expand its influence in the region. Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating told the Senate Armed Services Committee he sees headway in breaking down longstanding divisions between the two countries, but remains troubled by China’s lack of transparency about its military programs. The Defense Department released its 2008 China Military Power Report earlier this month, noting that China spent more than...

DETROIT (AP) — The tentative contract between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers would allow GM to close a plant each in Michigan and Indiana and possibly shut down several other facilities, according to a detailed copy of the agreement. The moves are the downside of job security pledges that the UAW won in the negotiations, including commitments for new products at 16 plants. About 74,000 hourly GM workers will vote on the pact starting this week, with a final tally to be done by Oct. 10. Gregg Shotwell, a GM worker and frequent critic of the UAW,...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2007 – The Defense Department announced today that it will close the Talon intelligence reporting system Sept. 17 and maintain a record copy of the collected data in accordance with intelligence oversight requirements.  Talon was established in 2002 by then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz as a way to collect and evaluate information about possible threats to U.S. servicemembers and defense civilians at stateside and overseas military installations. It is being closed because reporting to the system had declined significantly, and it was determined to no longer be of analytical value, said Army Col. Gary Keck,...

OAKDALE, Calif. -- The Hershey's chocolate plant in Oakdale will be shut down, officials said Monday. The closure, which will take place in phases and will mean the loss of up to 600 jobs, is set to be complete by February 2008. The plant is a key part of life for many in this Stanislaus County town of 17,500. The community hosts a chocolate festival on the third weekend in May each year. The first products to cease production at the Oakdale plant will be Hershey's kisses with almonds and Hershey's syrup. Both product lines will be transferred to the...

Kenyans close border with Somalia Thousands of Somalis have sought refuge in Kenya over the years Kenya has shut its border with Somalia and will not allow more refugees into the country, says its foreign minister. Earlier the Kenyan authorities deported more than 420 Somali refugees who had crossed the border in recent days. The UN refugee agency has condemned Kenya's actions, with aid workers expressing frustration at being unable to help Somalis fleeing conflict. There have been clashes near the Kenyan border with Islamist militias being pursued by Ethiopian and Somali troops. Kenya has deployed tanks and helicopters to...

Stock Markets Will Close Tuesday for Funeral of President Ford NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Stock Exchange said Friday it will close on Tuesday as part of a national day of mourning to mark the funeral of President Gerald R. Ford. The NYSE joined the Nasdaq Stock Market, which made a similar announcement on Thursday. It had been expected that the stock exchanges would close out of respect for the 38th president. Financial markets have traditionally closed for presidential funerals, the last time being the burial of President Ronald Reagan in June 2004. Wall Street's closing on the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2006 – Iraqi police and coalition forces captured two insurgents Oct. 9 in Samarra, Iraq, and Iraqi police shut down an insurgent financial operation Oct. 9 in Tikrit, military officials in Iraq reported. Iraqi police and coalition forces conducting a joint patrol captured two suspected insurgents who were attempting to enter Samarra by vehicle through a gap in the city’s surrounding berm. A search of the suspects’ vehicle revealed a sniper rifle. The individuals were detained for questioning. The combined patrol also apprehended an individual after receiving small-arms and indirect fire at a checkpoint. After determining the...

'New Moderates' close in on Left as Sweden votes By David Rennie in Stockholm (Filed: 16/09/2006) Sweden will vote tomorrow in an election in which a centre-Right candidate who compares himself to David Cameron has dragged his party out of the political wilderness to mount a serious challenge to the Social Democrats who have held power in Sweden for 65 of the last 74 years. Fredrik Reinfeldt In a high-risk strategy Fredrik Reinfeldt, the leader of the centre-Right opposition, has jettisoned cherished conservative policies and embraced the lavish, cradle-to-grave welfare state that is the cornerstone of the Swedish social model...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Sept. 13, 2006 -- Staff Sgt. Mike Myers experienced one of the most frightening events of his life in Afghanistan, while the birth of his child was taking place simultaneously more than 7,000 miles away. Army Staff Sgt. Mike Myers explains what happened to him on a recent mission as he sits in the driver's seat of a Humvee he was operating when it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. The attack came Sept. 6 at almost the same time his son was being born in the U.S. Myers is a security forces member deployed...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi government on Thursday ordered Arabic satellite network Al-Arabiya to shut down its Baghdad operations for one month, state television reported. Al-Arabiya said Iraqi police later arrived at its offices to enforce the order. The other pan-Arab satellite network, Al-Jazeera, had its office in the capital closed two years ago. Al-Arabiya, which is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at first said its headquarters had not yet been informed of a ban, but later said on live television that police had arrived at its Baghdad offices to close its operations down. The order apparently was issued...

SAN JOSE At least seven children suffered diarrhea after playing in a popular downtown fountain, and city health officials worry the water may have infected many more. The fountain at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park has not flowed since late last week, when tests confirmed the presence of the microscopic parasite that causes cryptosporidiosis, a diarrhea-inducing virus. The health department continued investigating Thursday whether 13 more cases of cryptosporidiosis and 15 cases of salmonella in children since mid-July were linked to the tainted fountain. One child was hospitalized but has since recovered, said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the county's public health...

WASHINGTON - American Indians suing the government over billions of dollars in lost royalties say they are contemplating an offer by members of Congress to resolve their lawsuit for $8 billion. The offer is considerably lower than the $27.5 billion plaintiffs offered to settle for a year ago. But plaintiffs say they are considering it seriously, bringing them closer than ever to ending the lawsuit, which has bogged down the Interior and Justice departments for 10 years. "Eight billion dollars is something I wish was higher, but I'm glad they were able to bring something forward that was equitable," the...

Afghanistan close to anarchy, warns general · Nato commander's view in stark contrast to ministers' · Forces short of equipment and 'running out of time' Richard Norton-Taylor Saturday July 22, 2006 The Guardian (UK) British soldiers on patrol in Sangin, Helmand province. Photograph: Cpl Rob Knight/MoD/PA The most senior British military commander in Afghanistan yesterday described the situation in the country as "close to anarchy" with feuding foreign agencies and unethical private security companies compounding problems caused by local corruption. The stark warning came from Lieutenant General David Richards, head of Nato's international security force in Afghanistan, who warned that...

Islamists close in on Somalian government By David Blair in Baidoa (Filed: 14/07/2006) The ruined town of Baidoa, where ragged gunmen roam bullet-scarred streets, is Somalia's alternative capital. Pulverised buildings, choked with weeds, house the country's official government, which has a president, cabinet and 275-member parliament. Somali Islamic fighters in Baidoa Barely 150 miles away, Islamist extremists have seized most of Somalia's real capital, Mogadishu, and the surrounding territory. Baidoa, where the "transitional federal government" clings to notional power thanks to international sponsorship, may be the Islamists' next target. It took 14 peace conferences to create this threadbare administration and,...

Traders Sports, one of the biggest gun dealers in the state, hopes a hearing in U.S. District Court next week will keep them in business. Traders has been under scrutiny for several years by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), which is trying to shut down the gun dealer. The ATF decided to revoke Traders gun permit on June 1. After an audit in 2003, the ATF claims that Traders can’t account for 1,767 weapons, and that guns sold at Traders turn up in crimes at an alarming rate. ATF spokeswoman Marti McKee said she couldn’t comment on...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The government of Puerto Rico ran out of money Monday, forcing the U.S. commonwealth to close public schools and shut down government offices, putting almost 100,000 people out of work. The legislature and governor failed to reach a last-minute accord that would have averted the first-ever partial shutdown of the government in island history.

Self-destructing comet to flash close by 10:30 24 April 2006 NewScientist.com news service Kimm Groshong Astronomers will soon be treated to a close-up celestial show, with a fragmenting comet streaming across the sky in more than 30 chunks. Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 has been breaking up since 1995, but between 12 and 14 May will come closer to the Earth than any comet since 1983. Fortunately no threat is posed to Earth since, even at its closest, the nearest of the pieces will be twenty times more distant than the Moon. But astronomers around the world will take advantage of the...

CENTRE-left leader Romano Prodi has claimed a knife-edge victory in Italy's general election, but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's allies dispute the result and are demanding a "scrupulous" check of the count. Twelve hours after polling stations closed, Mr Prodi declared his broad coalition had secured a majority in both houses of parliament and promised to unify Italy after a divisive, acrimonious election campaign. "We have won," he told flag-waving supporters who had waited until the early hours in a Rome square as the count ebbed and flowed in the closest election in modern Italian history. The centre-left said it was...

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2006 – U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley and Afghani Gen. Bismullah Khan met today and agreed that continued close cooperation between Afghan, coalition, NATO and Pakistani forces is essential to stabilizing Afghanistan and freeing the country of the Taliban and other terrorists. Freakley, commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-76, and Bismullah , who serves in the Afghan National Army, met in Khan's office at the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Their Afghan National Army arranged the meeting. The Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police have worked cooperatively with each other and with coalition and...

Rosemary Roberts: Close book on Black History MonthFriday, March 24, 2006 From time to time, this column focuses on local topics, so herewith are some observations: Let's start with Leonard Pitts Jr., the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist whose syndicated column appears in this newspaper. I'm a huge Leonard Pitts fan because he writes well, thinks deeply and gores sacred cows. Pitts was in Greensboro this week speaking to a sold-out audience at the UNCG Friends of the Libraries Annual Dinner. His topic, "Bearing Witness," pertained to racial issues. Pitts, who is African American, made a statement that made me want to...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders on Thursday scrambled to try to put together a massive public works bond deal in time to make the June ballot. "We are very, very close to coming to an agreement," Schwarzenegger said, emerging briefly from his office. "We have some hurdles still to overcome and some obstacles to overcome, but I have great hopes." He said negotiations might stretch through the weekend. The Senate's leader, meanwhile, said his house might vote on a bond bill Thursday night, even if a deal wasn't reached. "That's my intention...," said Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata,...

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2006 – The United States always has planned to transfer authority for all detention facilities in Iraq to the Iraqis, but announcements regarding the imminent closure at the Abu Ghraib prison are premature, defense officials said today. News reports that the U.S. military intends to close Abu Ghraib within the next few months and to transfer its prisoners to other jails are inaccurate, officials said. There's no specific timetable for that transfer or for closure of the Baghdad prison, they said. Decisions regarding Abu Ghraib and other detention facilities in Iraq will be based largely on two...

Schools close as week-long Arctic storm takes hold By Auslan Cramb Scottish Correspondent (Filed: 01/03/2006) More than 150 schools were closed yesterday and dozens of roads were blocked by snow as Arctic weather hit parts of Britain. Walkers brave the elements at Scarborough, North Yorks, where a severe weather warning had been issued While many central areas enjoyed uninterrupted winter sunshine, the north of Scotland and the East Coast experienced some of the heaviest snowfall of the winter. The northerly air stream, which is expected to last for most of the week, hit Orkney and Shetland, where all schools were...

Dennis Kelly, president of the teachers' union, said Friday he doesn't think teachers will agree to a raise of less than 10 percent. Many plan to gather today near City Hall to hold a "Grade-In for Justice" where they will grade papers on the street to show how hard they work and that they deserve a raise. Teachers affected by the closures and mergers will be given jobs elsewhere in the district.Dennis Kelly, president of the teachers' union, said Friday he doesn't think teachers will agree to a raise of less than 10 percent. Many plan to gather today near...

Now aristocrats will be evicted for living too close to Mugabe By Peta Thornycroft in Harare (Filed: 20/01/2006) Owners of property next to President Robert Mugabe's retirement mansion have received written warning that their houses will be confiscated by the state. The move represents the first time Zimbabwe's elite, both black and white, have suffered at first hand. President Mugabe's £6m palace is nearing completion Millions of Zimbabweans were affected by last year's "clearances" of urban shantytowns and much of the rural population hit by Mr Mugabe's war on white farmers. But, until now, many members of the aristocracy have...

This close to voting Friday, December 30, 2005 One of the hallmarks of a working democracy is that elections happen when they're scheduled to happen. But while special elections are now set in three parishes damaged by recent hurricanes -- Jefferson, St. Bernard and Acadia -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco has ordered an indefinite delay in New Orleans' regular citywide elections, which had been scheduled for Feb. 4 and March 4. Not surprisingly, the matter ended up in federal court. And while U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle declined to set an election date, he did say he was "this close" to...

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (AP) -- The United States is closing its consulate in this violence-wracked border city for a week following a shootout in which assailants used machine guns, grenades and even a rocket launcher to attack a home, the U.S. Ambassador said Friday evening. In a statement from Mexico City, Tony Garza said "in light of this alarming incident and continued violence along the border, I have decided to suspend all operations except for emergency services for American citizens," for one week beginning Aug. 1. He said temporarily closing the consulate would allow officials to "access the security situation...

LOS ANGELES - Mayor James Hahn and Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa were nearly deadlocked in early returns Tuesday as the incumbent struggled to hold his job despite a City Hall fundraising scandal and Villaraigosa sought to become the city's first Hispanic mayor since the 19th century. Unofficial tally of mail-in ballots showed Villaraigosa with 61,435 votes, or 51 percent, to 58,045, or 49 percent, for Hahn. Returns from polling places had yet to be counted. Hahn beat Villaraigosa in a runoff four years ago, then delivered on his promise to cut crime. But the incumbent was damaged by allegations that his...

WASHINGTON – The Marine Corps commandant casually acknowledged Tuesday something that would have been considered unthinkable only a few years ago – the Marines offered to close the San Diego Recruit Depot in this current base closure and realignment process. But Gen. Michael Hagee told the independent closure commission that the proposal was dropped because the cost of moving the historic training post from its location next to Lindbergh Field outweighed the possible savings. Hagee's comments were the first indication that the Marines had changed their previous strong opposition to losing the San Diego boot camp, which has been creating...

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon wants to close the Army's century-old hospital at Walter Reed Medical Center, the world-renowned facility in the nation's capital that has treated presidents and foreign leaders as well as soldiers and veterans. The proposal is part of a broad reordering of the military's system for medical education, research and care, which the Pentagon says suffers from a mismatch of needs and resources. Inpatient services would be curtailed at some military bases, and some facilities would be consolidated. Under the plan, the shuttering of Walter Reed would involve moving some of its staff and services to an...

One of the Pentagon's best-kept secrets will be let out of the bag this week, and thousands of Southern Arizonans are holding their breath to see what happens. The Defense Department is expected to announce by Friday which military bases it plans to shut down in a major round of base closings that could eliminate dozens of the country's 425 defense installations. Arizona's major installations, including Tucson's Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and Sierra Vista's Fort Huachuca, are expected to dodge the base-closing bullet. They could even grow, absorbing troops and missions from facilities that close in the Base Realignment and...

Straight talk can often inspire public confidence and cool off the debate over emotional issues. But when the issue is illegal immigration, and the straight talk is a pithy directive, it can have the opposite effect. Case in point: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's remarks to newspaper publishers about how he would tackle the vexing issue of illegal immigration. "It's a federal issue," Schwarzenegger said. "And the only thing that I can say and add to this is really, close the borders. Close the borders in California and all across Mexico and in the United States." Close the borders. Thanks for the...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Following the general convergence in Romanian politics, there is not a huge difference between the two main political blocs. Both see membership of the European Union, tentatively scheduled for 2007, as the key foreign policy objective. Romania's economy is growing fast, but poverty is widespread However, the DA Alliance is projecting a more business-friendly image; and its policy includes the introduction of a flat-rate corporation and income tax at 16%. But there is a more intriguing prospect, if Mr Tudor's Greater Romania Party, though much weakened, emerges in a position to hold the balance of power. Mr Tudor has gone...

CHARTED: Yoko Ono, 71, has the No. 1 single on the dance chart, "Every Man Has A Man Who Loves Him"/"Every Woman Has A Woman Who Loves Her," a mix of techno beats and her somewhat off-key vocals that delivers a message in favor of same-sex unions. "This is a victory not just for me but for all Americans who are against the administration's decision to ban gay marriage," Ono says about the success of the tune, as quoted by the BBC.

I've been trying to remember the 2000 election, because I remembered that the polls were showing Bush ahead most of the time, which was what made the close finish somewhat of a surprise. The numbers posted on this Web site confirm what I remembered. It's a different year and a different election, and it's clear that in 2000 the Dem get-out-the-vote effort was stronger than expected, and this year it'll be matched by the GOP. So this one appears to be in the bag -- but don't be surprised if it again turns out much closer than expected. (And everyone's...

WASHINGTON -- The presidential race is too close to project a winner right now, but that doesn't mean it will be too close on Election Day to prevent a landslide. Winner-take-all Electoral College math could convert a modest burst of momentum from President Bush or Sen. John Kerry into a sweep of tossup states -- and a presidential mandate. With state and national polls showing the race essentially tied, Bush and Kerry are making strategic decisions based on the assumption that that the popular vote will be evenly divided and every Electoral College vote will count. Thus, in the final...

Watching ABC, CBS, or NBC news, you would never know that Iranian civilians are now being killed while protesting against their country’s Islamist dictators. You probably wouldn’t know that Iran is considered to be the “world's ‘most active state sponsor of terrorism.’” You most surely haven’t heard that between 10,000 and 15,000 Iranians risk life and liberty to run web logs (“blogs”) opposing their government. Maybe you’ve heard that Iran’s rulers are secretly building nuclear weapons, but did you know that Britain, France, Germany, and Russia have sold nuclear technologies to Iran? Have you heard that Iran now has ballistic...

Marines in clash close to mosque By Adrian Blomfield in Najaf (Filed: 17/08/2004) United States marines and Shia militiamen clashed in the alleys around the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf yesterday as delegates at a national conference sought new negotiations to end southern Iraq's insurgency. American tanks came within a few hundred yards of the mosque, engaging Mahdi army insurgents who are rebelling against the interim government in the name of the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. But they did not fire on the shrine, one of the holiest in Shia Islam. Marines patrol a street in Najaf Nearly 3,000 Shia...

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, despite one Republican leader’s insistence that it’s not likely, said Tuesday there will be a workers’ compensation agreement by week's end.</p> <p>“I see it, I feel it, I taste it,” the GOP governor said during a 30-minute interview with The Bee.</p>

Bush 47% Kerry 45% Other 3% Not Sure 5% RasmussenReports.com --The latest Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll shows George W. Bush with 47% of the vote while John F. Kerry attracts support from 45% of the nation's likely voters. Kerry has been steady at 45% of 46% of the vote for the last seven days. Support for Bush has generally been at 46% or 47% during this period, but it did go above that level on two days in the last week. The Rasmussen Reports Presidential Election Survey is updated daily by noon Eastern. After the President declared his support...

Gaddafi was close to having bomb, UN discloses By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor (Filed: 21/02/2004) Libya succeeded in making weapons-grade plutonium before announcing it would abandon its efforts to build a nuclear bomb, United Nations inspectors said yesterday. Col Muammar Gaddafi A report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency discloses the full scale of Tripoli's ambitions to build a bomb before Col Gaddafi's change of heart. Libya's nuclear experiments included the separation of plutonium, albeit "in very small quantities", it said. As part of a deal in December to end its international isolation, Col Gaddafi has allowed American...

Gaddafi 'was not close to building bomb' By Karl Schembri in Tripoli (Filed: 28/12/2003) Libya was not close to building a nuclear weapon, said Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) yesterday. Mr ElBaradei flew into Libya with a team of inspectors keen to test Colonel Gaddafi's promise to be "fully transparent" about his nuclear programme. He confirmed that Libya had tried to enrich uranium as part of a weapons programme but did not appear close to producing a nuclear bomb. Col Gaddafi made a surprise announcement 10 days ago that his regime would abandon efforts...

Libyans to reveal just how close they were to making a nuclear bomb By Andrew Buncombe in Washington and Francis Elliott 21 December 2003 A Libyan team last night began talks in Vienna, headquarters of the UN's atomic energy agency, to reveal just how close the North African nation and its maverick leader, Muammar Gaddafi, came to possessing nuclear weapons. The move follows Friday's startling announcement - on the eve of today's 15th anniversary of Lockerbie - that Libya will dismantle its programmes to create weapons of mass destruction after months of secret negotiations with Britain and the US. Colonel...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal regulators have decided to close a large swath of Pacific Coast waters to bottom fishing for the rest of the year due to concerns about overfishing, California state officials said.</p> <p>The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which sets limits on West Coast fishing, voted Wednesday to restrict catches of bottom-dwelling fish off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.</p>

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 October 15 Space Rock SQ222 Noticed After Pass Credit & Copyright: LONEOS, Lowell Observatory Explanation: Why didn't we see it? An undetected asteroid zipped past the Earth undetected last month in the closest near miss yet recorded -- within a quarter of the distance to the Moon. Such a close call is actually quite common -- what was new was that we did see it, although the...