AP - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said she expects a challenging debate next month when she faces a Democratic opponent who was elected to the Senate when she was 8 years old.

AP - Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne pledged on Thursday to squelch the "ethics storm" exposed by investigators who said agency workers rigged bids, accepted gifts and had sex with energy company officials doing business with the government.

AP - Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska can probe the mental health of the government's star witness in next week's corruption trial against the longtime Alaska icon, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

AFP - Democrat Barack Obama surged into the lead Thursday in national polls which showed the financial crisis rocking the White House race and "Palin power" fading for the Republican ticket.

AP - Leaders of the House ethics committee said Thursday they plan to begin investigating some of the ethical issues surrounding Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.

AP - Republican Gov. Haley Barbour agreed Thursday to move a special election for Trent Lott's old Senate seat to near the top of the November ballot, ending a dispute that had threatened to delay the start of absentee voting.

AP - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed Thursday to press ahead with a Democratic plan to inject more than $50 billion or so into the economy, despite opposition from the White House and moderates in her own party.

AFP - A senior US senator has called for a fast track endorsement this month of a landmark nuclear agreement with India as lawmakers launched a series of meetings to consider the controversial deal.

AFP - Democrat Barack Obama topped two key national polls Thursday which showed the financial crisis reverberating through the White House race and "Palin power" fading for the Republican ticket.

Reuters - House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi left open the possibility on Thursday of passing financial industry reform legislation this year, but said she has not been given a preview of any proposals that the Bush administration could be crafting.