AP - The federal government will run a near-record deficit of $407 billion this year, according to the latest Capitol Hill estimates.

AP - House Republican leaders demanded Tuesday that embattled Rep. Charles Rangel be removed from his post as chairman of a tax-writing committee while an ethics panel reviews his personal finances.

Reuters - Al Franken, a comedian and former liberal radio talk show host, won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday to run for a U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota.

AP - With a pair of easy primary victories behind them, comedian-turned-politician Al Franken and Sen. Norm Coleman wasted no time diving into the homestretch of their already long-running Minnesota Senate battle.

AP - The United States remains "dangerously vulnerable" to chemical, biological and nuclear attacks seven years after 9/11, a forthcoming independent study concludes. And a House Democrats' report says the Bush administration has missed one opportunity after another to improve the nation's security.

AFP - Seven years on, Al-Qaeda's catastrophic attacks on the United States go a long way to defining this year's White House race even as Barack Obama and John McCain put on a veneer of unity to commemorate Thursday's anniversary.

AP - The federal government will run a near-record deficit of $407 billion this year, according to the latest Capitol Hill estimates.