Top official: Lott to resign  —  Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) plans to resign his seat by year's end, a senior Republican official told Politico.  —  The announcement took Capitol Hill by surprise because Lott, the former majority leader, seemed to be relishing his job as minority whip, the second-ranking GOP leadership job.

Calculation and Conviction  —  Barack Obama suggests that Hillary Clinton is guilty of triangulating, poll-testing and telling the American people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.  —  Maybe so.  But then it's fair to ask: Is Obama telling the American people anything they don't want to hear?

Boys' moped deaths ignite riot in Paris suburb  —  Rioting broke in one of Paris's tinder box suburban housing estates last night after two young boys were killed when their moped collided with a police car.  —  Molotov cocktails were thrown, and cars and plastic bins set on fire following …

Short of Money, G.O.P. Enlists Rich Candidates  —  Confronting an enormous fund-raising gap with Democrats, Republican Party officials are aggressively recruiting wealthy candidates who can spend large sums of their own money to finance their Congressional races, party officials say.

ABC News and Facebook in Joint Effort to Bring Viewers Closer to Political Coverage  —  Facebook, the popular social networking site, has become a full-fledged platform for communicating, sharing and advertising.  ABC News is betting that it will become a platform for political coverage, as well.

Edwards Offers Heating Plan  —  Former Senator John Edwards outlined a proposal yesterday in New Hampshire to lower the cost of heating oil, increase regulation of oil companies and promote energy efficiency.  —  Speaking at a town hall-style campaign event in Meredith, N.H. …

Rudy: It's time to unmask Romney  —  WINDHAM, N.H. — In a big strategic shift, Rudy Giuliani hammered Mitt Romney's record on three fronts, saying it was time to "take the mask off and take a look at what kind of governor he was."  —  Using some of the toughest language of his campaign …

Heroic rhetoric  —  When I first heard George W. Bush talking about "compassionate conservatism" in 1999, I figured (and certainly hoped) that it was at least 80 percent ad campaign and no more than 20 percent policy guide.  Eight years later, it seems to me that, in practice …

Bush to Welcome Gore to White House  —  Former Political Rivals Meet as Nobel Prize Winners are Honored  —  Forget the Mideast peace talks.  A meeting that may require even greater diplomacy will take place Monday in the Oval Office, when President Bush receives America's Nobel Prize winners — including his one-time rival, Al Gore.

Rice's Turnabout on Mideast Peace Talks  —  At President Bush's first National Security Council meeting in January 2001, he announced that he did not want to be drawn into the shattered Middle East peace process, people at the meeting recalled, because he believed that former President Bill Clinton …

Wake up to the dangers of a deepening crisis  —  Three months ago it was reasonable to expect that the subprime credit crisis would be a financially significant event but not one that would threaten the overall pattern of economic growth.  This is still a possible outcome but no longer the preponderant probability.

Carson: I have terminal lung cancer  —  Her statement: Indianapolis Democrat, 69, is grateful to family, friends, constituents  —  U.S. Rep. Julia Carson revealed she has terminal lung cancer in a statement Saturday in which she expressed her "eternal gratitude" to family, friends and her constituents.

Political Upheaval Follows a Rare Decision to Retire  —  SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexicans like to hold on to their United States senators.  —  Their junior senator, a Democrat, has been in office since early in the Reagan administration.  Their senior senator, a Republican …