Edward M. Kennedy's death was one of those rare events that can pause politics — but nothing can stop politics. Massachusetts now has an open Senate seat for the first time in 25 years, and the maneuvering over succession has already begun. The first question is when that succession will happen. A 2004 law calls for the seat to remain vacant until an election in five months. At the time the law was formulated, the Democratic-dominated legislature wanted to ...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's race to save automaker Opel — and the jobs of its 25,000 employees in Germany — is beginning to look like a high-speed pileup that could cost her at the polls. To get talks with Opel owners General Motors back on track, Merkel is reportedly ready to abandon her previous plan to force GM to sell a controlling stake in its European business to a consortium of Canadian-Austrian car-parts maker Magna International and Russia's Sberbank. ...

Simon Sousa, shell shocked and bleary eyed, stood on a grassy corner near the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port. He clutched a 8"x10" framed and signed photo of himself with Senator Ted Kennedy, a memento from when Kennedy had helped his Brazilian house cleaner get a green card two years ago. He planted a few tiny American flags and he says he may drive to Boston for the funeral on Saturday. "I do not understand, he seemed okay ...

Their families were longtime friends, and she had once interned in the mailroom of his Senate office. Still, Ted Kennedy and Vicki Reggie were a most unlikely match. When their paths crossed in June 1991, he was a hard-partying politician whose indiscretions and appetites had become a national joke. She was a whip-smart single mom, more than 20 years his junior, who had little time for a social life as she balanced the needs of her two small children ...

President Obama and his family are hoping for a chance to unwind during their weeklong getaway to Martha's Vineyard. The first family, along with Obama's sister Maya Soetoro-Ng and the first dog Bo, arrived on the Massachusetts island Sunday. The Obamas are staying at a secluded 28-acre private estate. The No. 1 priority on Obama's vacation agenda is "To get a little break," White House spokesman Bill Burton said Monday. "He certainly appreciates the hospitality of the folks who ...

After smiling broadly for the TV cameras and complimenting one another, U.S. President Barack Obama and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak provided little food for thought about what really transpired between them in an Oval Office meeting Tuesday. (CNN) -- After smiling broadly for the TV cameras and complimenting one another, U.S. President Barack Obama and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak provided little food for thought about what really transpired between them in an Oval Office meeting Tuesday. Historically, the ...

Ryan Alexander Jenkins, a reality TV contestant who is suspected in his wife's slaying in California, was found dead in a hotel in British Columbia, Canadian authorities announced Sunday. The nude body of Jenkins' wife, former swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore, was found last weekend in Orange County, California. CNN has not confirmed reports that the marriage was annulled. Fiore's body was found Saturday in a Dumpster behind an apartment complex in Buena Park, just outside Anaheim, California. Her teeth had ...

Facing a recent erosion of public support for health-care overhaul, President Obama lashed out at his opponents Saturday for spreading "outrageous myths" on the Internet, television, and at town hall forums. Republican leaders, in turn, said it was Obama who is guilty of playing "fast and loose with the facts." They repeated their assertion that the president's proposed government-funded public health insurance option would destroy the current private insurance-based system. "I'm glad that so many are engaged," Obama said in ...

An arrest warrant for murder has been issued for the ex-husband of a former swimsuit model whose nude body was found over the weekend, Orange County police said Thursday. The body of Jasmine Fiore, 28, was found Saturday stuffed into a suitcase inside a Dumpster behind an apartment complex in Buena Park, just outside Anaheim in Orange County. Her teeth had been extracted and her fingers removed. Fiore lived in Los Angeles and was last seen alive Friday ...

Conservative columnist and former CNN "Crossfire" co-host Robert Novak has died after a yearlong battle with cancer, his family said Tuesday. He was 78. Novak died at home, over a year after doctors diagnosed him with a malignant brain tumor in August 2008. He was dubbed "The Prince of Darkness" by friends for his pessimistic persona, and he used the nickname as the title of his 2007 memoir. However, Sam Feist, CNN's political director, said the ...