AP - The famed bean soup served in Senate restaurants is made up of dried navy beans, smoked ham hocks, onions and a million-dollar tab for the taxpayer.

AP - Barack Obama ramped up his search for a running mate on Monday, consulting with one congressional ally by phone and dispatching members of his vice presidential vetting team to the Capitol for meetings. Sen. Dick Durbin said he had spoken with Obama, his fellow Illinois senator.

AP - Al Franken won a resounding endorsement for the U.S. Senate on Saturday from Minnesota Democrats, quickly dispatching with concerns about jokes that offended some and promising a tough challenge to Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

AP - Just outside the Senate chamber is a gilded parlor where Hillary Rodham Clinton has passed many times during her pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination. That dream dashed, she'll be back.

AP - A new Senate report gives a fresh shot of adrenaline to the election-year debate over the Iraq war. President Bush and his top officials deliberately misrepresented secret intelligence to make the case to invade Iraq, according to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

AP - Just outside the Senate chamber on the second floor of the Capitol is a gilded parlor where Hillary Rodham Clinton often paused to talk with constituents or reporters during her pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination. That dream dashed, she'll be back.

Reuters - President George W. Bush and his top policymakers misstated Saddam Hussein's links to terrorism and ignored doubts among intelligence agencies about Iraq's arms programs as they made a case for war, the Senate intelligence committee reported on Thursday.