Oct. 22: Regionals in Today's News

ON THE CAMAPAIGN TRAIL: Bill Adair in the St. Pete Times reports on the speed and sticking power of online campaign rumors; Joe Biden is hurting for cash, Nicole Guadiano reports in the Wilmington News Journal; and Craig Gilbert in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and Thomas Burr in the Salt Lake Tribune report on the candidates' attempts to sway "values voters"'

REGIONALS CAN BE INTERNATIONAL: Wes Allison in the St. Pete Times does a Q&A with the president of the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization.

FEC REPORTS: How did local members of Congress spend campaign cash this quarter? A look at some of the continued regional coverage of Federal Election Commission reports out last week by Malia Rulon in the Cincinati Enquirer.

SENATOR SELLS STOCK: Sen. Jeff Sessions is selling his stock in Compass Bancshares Inc., and Citigroup Inc., in the wake of a Wall Street Journal report that legislation he is pushing would benefit those banks. Sean Reilly reports in the Mobile Register.

JENA SIX: Gerard Shields writes a political analysis on the Jenz Six case, in the Baton Rouge Advocate.

CREATIONISM POLITICS: Education advocates worried that a religious group promoting creationism will get federal funding, despite a pledge from U.S. Sen David Vitter that it won't, Gerard Shields reports in the Baton Rouge Advocate.

And over the weekend...

MARTINEZ RESIGNATION: Florida Sen. Mel Martinez resigns as Republican Party Chairman, Lesley Clark reports in the Miami Herald and Larry Lipman in the Palm Beach Post.

LOCAL RACES: Herb Jackson reports on a possible run for U.S. Senate by Republican Cliff Sobel in the Bergen Record; and Rep. Barbara Cubin decides whether to run for reelection, reports Noelle Straub in the Billings Gazette.

CHARITY LOBBYING: Jerry Zremski reports in the Buffalo News on a $200,000 privately-funded lobbying effort by the Buffalo City Mission that yeilded no federal aid.

REID GOES TO KENTUCKY: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid talks war in Louisville, by Lisa Mascaro in the Las Vegas Sun.

HOUSING POLITICS: Deborah Barfield Berry continues to examine housing discrimination, looking at online ads that violate fair housing laws. For Gannett News Service in the Tennessean.

BILLS, MARKUPS AND FEDERAL FUNDING: Okahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe proposes a tax-free development plan for the Arkansas River, Jim Myers reports in the Tulsa World; Bruce Alpert in the Times-Picayune reports on an amendment to a Senate measure that could help a Louisiana mental health program; Suzanne Struglinski reports in the Deseret News on Utah reactions to a sales-tax proposal; and Jake Thompson explains the AMT debate in the Omaha World Herald.

MINING POLITICS: Tony Batt in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Lisa Mascaro in the Las Vegas Sun report on Nevada reaction to a mining bill that would impose royalty taxes on new and existing mines; meanwhile, Suzanne Struglinski in the Deseret News reports on a $1 million federal study on pillary mining proposed by Utah Senators.