WASHINGTON - August 25, 2010 - Top Democrats are growing markedly more pessimistic about holding the House; privately conceding that the summertime economic and political recovery they were banking on will not likely materialize by Election Day.

WASHINGTON - August 25, 2010 - A Republican civil war is raging, with righter-than-thou conservatives dominating ever more primaries in a fight for the party's soul; and the Democrats hope to benefit.

The latest examples of conservative insurgents' clout came Tuesday at opposite ends of the country. In Florida, political newcomer Rick Scott beat longtime congressman and state Attorney General Bill McCollum for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. In Alaska, Tea Party activists and Sarah Palin pushed Senator Lisa Murkowski to the brink of defeat, depending on absentee ballot counts in her race against outsider Joe Miller.

NEW YORK - August 24, 2010 - Five states - Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma and Vermont - go to the polls Tuesday, but only three of them can point to primary elections that are being closely monitored by a national audience.

DETROIT, Michigan - August 23, 2010 - This is your Sequoia touch-screen voting machine with Pac-Man hacked onto it without disturbing any of the "tamper-evident" seals supposedly meant to protect it from hackers.

DENVER, Colorado - August 14, 2008 - Hillary Clinton will have her name placed in nomination at this month's Democratic National Convention in what presumptive nominee Barack Obama's campaign says is a "show of unity" designed to allow Clinton's supporters to have their voice heard before getting behind his campaign.

HOUSTON, Texas - August 12, 2008 - The wife of Republican Representative Dr. Ron Paul was in serious but stable condition Monday at a Houston hospital, a spokesman for the congressman said.

SAN FRANCISCO, California - August 11, 2008 - Cindy Sheehan, an icon of the anti-war movement, has qualified to challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her seat in Congress.

Eligibility hinges on American citizenship

WASHINGTON - August 8, 2008 - Israel Insider is reporting that analysts working separately have determined the birth certificate posted on the Daily Kos website and later on Sen. Barack Obama's "Fight the Smears" campaign website is fraudulent, and now two different actions have been launched to try and obtain the truth about the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's birth.

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - August 6, 2008 - I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram, Afghanistan, for about an hour on his visit to 'The War Zone'. I want to share with you what happened.