Bob Bennett

The US Senate lost a beacon of bipartisanship when Republican Richard Lugar was trounced by an ultra-conservative challenger -- the latest erosion of a moderate congressional middle that will leave Washington more polarized than ever.

With his Republican rivals vanquished, Mitt Romney is focusing on the battlegrounds that will decide the 2012 election, with a new poll Thursday showing he has pulled even with President Barack Obama in two key swing states.

Mozambique plans to vaccinate 3.6 million children against measles over the next five days in a bid to reduce deaths by 98 percent by the end of 2012, a UN Foundation official said Sunday.

A champagne toast to historic health care victory was rare bit of bubbly in Obama's long year. Barack Obama's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year got off to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad start.

A champagne toast to historic health care victory was rare bit of bubbly in Obama's long year. Obama Long year

A champagne toast to historic health care victory was rare bit of bubbly in Obama's long year. Barack Obama's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year got off to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad start.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate headed for a last-minute showdown over spending as Republicans vowed on Wednesday to block a bill laden with pet projects that would fund the entire U.S. government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Program, which risked up to $700 billion of government funds to bail out troubled banks and automakers, will cost taxpayers a mere $25 billion, according to an estimate released on Monday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

A state-by-state glance at Tuesday's election. A look at key races in the 50 states:

More Democratic incumbents lose, GOP holds Senate seats. More House Democrats are going down to defeat, as Republicans look to wrap up control of the House in the next Congress.

Conservative Republican Lee defeats Granato to win Utah US Senate seat long held by Bennett. Conservative Republican Mike Lee will be Utah's next U.S. senator.

A state-by-state look at the top races in Tuesday's election. A look of the key races in the 50 states:

Clarification: Stanford-Attorneys story. In an Oct. 27 story about jailed financier R. Allen Stanford's legal representation in his criminal case, The Associated Press reported that Stanford had written a letter in August accusing his attorney, Bob Bennett, of ethical misconduct.

Jailed Texas financier Stanford gets new team after accusing ex-attorney of deceit, greed. Jailed Texas financier R. Allen Stanford's lead attorney was replaced on Wednesday after the once high-flying billionaire accused him in a scathing letter of incompetence, unethical behavior, deceit and only caring "about dipping his fingers in the money pot" of a case that has so far resulted in millions of dollars in legal fees.

AP Enterprise: Not fading away, tea party has 35 House candidates running in competitive races. Doubters who thought the tea party would fade away can forget it. More than 70 of its favored candidates are on Nov. 2 ballots, and nearly three dozen are locked in competitive House races, according to a state-by-state analysis by The Associated Press.

Judge rules insurer can stop paying legal bills for Texas financier Stanford, 2 associates. Jailed Texas financier R. Allen Stanford and two former executives charged in a massive Ponzi scheme will be unable to rely on an insurance policy to cover mounting legal bills, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Republicans seek to bridge party divide by uniting with tea party candidates ahead of November. Can this political marriage survive? More than a half dozen tea party-backed candidates have captured Republican Senate nominations, and now the GOP is trying to bring their rebel supporters' enthusiasm into the fold for November.

President Barack Obama's Republican foes picked over the results of a shock Tea Party primary win which analysts said all but wiped out the opposition party's thin hopes of retaking the US Senate.

President Barack Obama's Republican foes on Wednesday picked over the results of a shock Tea Party primary win that, analysts said, all but wiped out their thin hopes of retaking the US Senate.

President Barack Obama's Republican foes on Wednesday picked over the results of a shock Tea Party primary win that, analysts said, all but wiped out their thin hopes of retaking the US Senate.